Ashara
by Aria6
Summary: Fantasy AU! Roxas is a "Princess" and Axel is the Prince of a far away Northern Kingdom. Neither one of them really wants to get married, but it seems that they have to. There will be romance, action smut and some mystery! Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

The Princess grinned as she pulled her horse to a stop, lightly sliding off. The horse, a beautiful black stallion playfully nudged her and she patted him before feeding him a carrot. He was a good tempered beast and almost a perfect example of the Haasha horse breed. Her Prince would likely appreciate the betrothal gift and he would sire plenty of lovely little foals for the Royal stables.

Roxas sighed as 'she' thought about her upcoming marriage. She wasn't looking forward to departing her comfortable castle for the wild Kingdom of Ashara, far to the North. It was said to be a barbaric place with all kinds of uncouth customs. Unfortunately, that was exactly the reason she was being married off there. Roxas handed the stallion off to a stable hand as she remembered…

* * *

"_I'm what?" Roxas stared at her mother in shock. Queen Arlista was a beautiful woman with blonde hair the exact same shade as Roxas blonde curls and dark blue eyes. Her figure was lush from repeatedly pregnancies but still lovely._

"_You're getting married to Prince Axel of Ashara." Roxas felt like her head was reeling. This couldn't be true. Could it? Her mother was smiling sympathetically at her confusion. "I'm sorry to have to tell you so abruptly but the negotiations have been very delicate. We didn't want to worry you if nothing came of it."_

"_B-But how?!? I'm not… you know I can't…" Roxas heard her voice break and hated it. But she wasn't… right. How could they be doing this? Her mother coughed into her hand._

"_That's been the delicate part. We've advised King Cristopher of your condition. You know the Asharan's practice multiple marriages?" Roxas blinked and swallowed. That was considered to be an abomination in her country. "In this particular case that custom has proved very useful. Prince Axel can have a second and even third wife to fulfill his duties to the Kingdom while still giving you full honor as his First Wife. You see?"_

"_No! Why do I have to do this at all? Why can't I just stay in our castle and be a maiden aunt to Sora's kids?" That had been her rather lackluster dream in life. Not that she wanted to be a maiden aunt but it had seemed the only recourse. The Queen winced._

"_Roxas, I know you think so but too many people here are aware of your… status. And you were firstborn. It would be much better for the both of you if you marry and go elsewhere. The Asharan's might be barbaric but you'll be well treated. You might even enjoy it. They let their women go to war and wear trousers." Her mother sounded slightly disapproving but Roxas was captivated by the image. Trousers? She hadn't been allowed to wear them since she was very small._

"_But mama, what if I can't feel right?" Roxas swallowed at the embarrassing subject but it was a pressing concern. The Queen sighed._

"_Women have had that problem all through the ages Roxas. You'll just have to survive. And as I said, he'll have other wives to spread the duty with. Don't worry about it. Oh, I have a picture of him for you." The Queen offered Roxas a locket and she took it with numb hands, opening it to look at the picture inside. "Handsome isn't he?"_

"_Yes." Roxas said softly as she looked at the little picture of a flame haired man with flashing green eyes. "Are those tattoos on his face?" That was odd. Her mother laughed._

"_Yes, it's a custom they have up there. Women get them too but not on their face." The conversation went on to minutiae about Ashara. All the little things Roxas would need to know to live there. Fortunately she was already fluent in the Northern tongue._

_Now she would just have to prepare for the trip._

* * *

Roxas shook herself out of her daze with a sigh and went into the castle. It was a typical Southern castle full of towers with pretty balconies and lots of windows. She knew it would be very different in the North. She'd seen pictures of Castle Ashara in her reading and it was a squat, forbidding place. But it had been built to fend off unfriendly attacks.

The history of Ashara had been fascinating reading. The Kingdom had come into being in the aftermath of a bloody civil war in the neighboring kingdom of Aarin. The rebels had been defeated and had carved out their own domain, seizing the land from the nomads and reindeer people who had lived their before. The Kingdom of Aarin had probably figured that the rebels stood no chance of creating a real kingdom out of land that forbidding and had done nothing, but that had proven to be a mistake. The nomads had ended up pledging their loyalty to the new overlords and they were enemies of Aarin to this day. A half dozen wars and uncountable skirmishes had been fought between the two.

The land of Ashara was a harsh place plagued with wild magic and wilder experiments but it bred a strong, formidable people. Roxas stared in fascination at the illustrations of Queen Brunva, Axel's grandmother, riding into battle on a demonic horse. She had been called the Skull Queen and the book said she had five husbands. That made Roxas sit back and blink many times. A man having multiple wives would have been beyond the pale in her country. A woman having multiple husbands was just ludicrous!

"Fancy." Roxas commented weakly than kept reading. The book stopped well before Axel's birth, to her disappointment, but this place sounded absolutely fascinating. In a 'can you believe it' sort of way. Although the winter sounded rather ghastly. She was going to live in this frozen Hell? "At least I can wear trousers." That was a plus and in fact it looked like it would be mandatory in the winter although she could wear a little skirt over them if she wanted. Some of the women in the illustrations did that and while it looked rather silly it was feminine and warm.

Roxas finally shut the book and began practicing her Ashara language exercises. It wasn't really that hard. They spoke a dialect of Aarin and that language was related to Sloodi and Vaali's tongues. It was the duty of a royal princess to be fluent in the tongue of any place she might be married off to and those were nearby neighbors. Roxas didn't notice as the door to the library opened.

"Brother!" She almost jumped out of her skin as something soppy hugged her. "What's this I hear about you getting married?!?"

"Don't call me that." Roxas said automatically as Sora let go, sniffling. "And stop that. You're going to be the King not a wet tissue." Sora gave her a reproachful look and Roxas immediately melted. Sure, Sora was a soppy but his fiancée Kairi wasn't. She'd keep everyone in line when Sora got a bit too gooey and he only had one… sister. Sora plopped into a chair across from her.

"I've already spoken to mom and dad about it. Did they ask you before they agreed to this?" Sora demanded and Roxas couldn't hide a wince. "I didn't think so! Why'd you let them do this?"

"Sora." Roxas felt a bit helpless as she met her twins blue eyes. "You know why. I'm a rival claimant to the throne. It's better that I'm far away where no one can try to use me." Sora looked shocked at the blunt, painful truth. But then, no one had been willing to shove his face into it before. They all knew he loved Roxas. "I'm going to miss you Sora." Roxas felt tears springing up but held them back. They didn't need two tissues in the room. "Really I am. But this is for the best and I'm almost looking forward to it. Did you know Axel's grandmother had five husbands?"

"But that's so wrong you would never – hey what is THAT?" Roxas had opened the book to the illustration of the Skull Queen, counting on the full color page to catch Sora's attention. It had clearly worked. "Did she really wear a skull on her hoo-haa?"

"I, um, rather doubt it. But its striking isn't it?" Roxas privately thought the illustration had come from the diseased mind of some sophomoric artist. The half naked Queen in the picture would have some wicked saddle sores otherwise. And she doubted Royalty usually engaged the enemy directly that way although if things went wrong it could certainly happen. The history of Ashara had mentioned several royals who had died in combat including at least two Kings. Maybe that was where the multiple marriage custom had come from. They needed all the heirs they could get. "But women can do so many interesting things there."

"You make it sound like women can't do anything here." Sora sounded grouchy at the thought. "Women can be artisans, writers, painters, artists and performers and –"

"A Princess can't be any of those things." Roxas said a touch sharply. She'd heard the whole song and dance before. Women weren't really that unequal in her Kingdom but it didn't matter. "A Princess is a prisoner of custom. A Princess can't even walk in public without a bodyguard! Maybe in Ashara I won't be so penned in."

"You wouldn't be that penned in if you would just be a Prince." Sora retorted immediately and Roxas drew a deep breath. She wanted to scream at him but held it back.

"I'm not a boy Sora." She said firmly and Sora looked unhappy. "I don't know what I am but I'm not a boy. There's no point in pretending and the people would hate it anyway. I've been raised as a Princess all my life." Her problem was common knowledge though. That was part of the reason she needed to get away. Hopefully Prince Axel wouldn't be aware of it or maybe he'd be prepared for it. His people certainly wouldn't know about the peculiarities of a Princess from a far away land.

At least, he hoped not.

* * *

"When did I agree to this?" Axel asked the walls of his castle. They didn't answer. "Oh thanks, just ignore me." Venting a disgusted sigh he grabbed a cloak and wandered out onto the battlements.

Spring was just beginning and it was still more than a little nippy outside. Wrapping the cloak firmly around himself he looked down over his Kingdom. What little of it he could see from the castle. It wasn't really a high castle so he was mostly getting a view of the town. It was a highly defensible castle though, built in a highly defensible valley in the Fangwulf Mountains. In addition to being the Royal seat the City of Ashara was also a great mining town and Axel coughed a little at the fumes. There wasn't much wind today and the city always stank a bit when the air was calm. Fortunately with the wizards purifying the emissions it was mostly harmless if disgusting. He wondered what his new bride would make of it.

He wondered what his new bride would make of everything, himself included, and cursed his father roundly in ten different languages. Axel had planned to never marry. He had plenty of cousins and could name one of them as the heir. His father didn't like that plan though and Axel had to admit, if only to himself, that it had serious drawbacks. If he named one of the cousins heir one of the other cousins could easily take exception to it and try to start a civil war. His father was determined to not have that happen and the only way to ensure it wouldn't was to get Axel married and producing some heirs.

Prince Axel was an only child although not for want of trying. Just a year after his birth the King had gotten badly sick with a disease notorious for rendering sufferers sterile. He'd recovered but with the expected effect and despite three Royal wives, Axel had never had a brother or sister. It was a shame really, he'd have liked to have some siblings. Although the other palace rugrats had provided plenty of companions in mischief. Ashara didn't stand on ceremony the way some other countries did and the offspring of the scullery maids had often played with him. Not to mention…

"Hai Prince." The soldier on duty made a quick salute and Axel returned it.

"Hai Riku." He could have recognized that voice in the dark. Riku was the son of his father's best general and was currently working his way up in the ranks. He was a junior Lieutenant and clearly had the responsibility for the battlements right now.

"What are you doing here? A pressing desire for fresh air?" Riku's tone was full of gentle irony and Axel grinned.

"Fresh air that smells like rotten eggs, ah, bliss." Riku's low laugh was soothing as always. "I'm just thinking about my upcoming nuptials." Axel's tone was sour and Riku didn't smile. He knew what the problem was. "I wish I could just marry you. My life would be so much easier."

"Except that that would do the country no good at all from the heir perspective." Riku observed. "And my Kitty would probably kill you." Axel grinned at that. Kitty was a flame haired woman and his distant relative. She was related to the Skull Queen and took after her in temperament.

"She likely would, too. Kill first and ask questions later, that could be her motto." Riku smiled in pleasure as Axel's words reminded him of his woman. Axel envied him. If only he could feel that way about a woman than his marriage wouldn't be such a chore. "And she's the jealous sort I hear." Riku sighed.

"I think everyone has heard by now after what she did to that poor minstrel." Riku shook his head reprovingly then looked at Axel. "Enough about us though. I hear the King is insisting you get several wives, not just this one." Axel nodded glumly.

"Yes. He's hoping one of them will take my fancy." Axel doubted it. He was taken with the men. That was all there was too it. In the normal course of things he'd have had brothers and sisters and at least one of them would have come up with a good claimant to the throne but now it was either his own children or the cousins. And there were just too many cousins. "The first one is going to be this girl from Reyerton. She's a first Princess." Riku frowned faintly and Axel noticed. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just, does she have a lot of sisters?" Axel looked at the silver hair, puzzled, and shook his head.

"No, none at all. Her only sibling is her brother the heir. Why?" Riku's frown deepened and then he shrugged.

"It just seems odd that they'd marry a first Princess off to you." Axel bristled and Riku smiled. "Not that you're not handsome enough or strong enough. But we're too far North to have any real contact with them. What are they getting out of this? Not even trading concessions and they have to provide us with the dowry."

"Huh." Axel hadn't thought about the pairing analytically. He'd been too wrapped up in his own personal reactions. But now that it was pointed out Riku did have a point. "You're right that's odd. I hope she's not ugly or crippled or something." He pulled out the locket he'd been given and looked at the picture critically. It was of a very young girl with long blonde hair. "She looks nice enough although she'll have to cut that mess off." His people didn't believe in long hair for anyone. It was too easy for someone to get a grip on during combat. "If only she were a boy."

"You'll be able to have lovers." Riku said comfortingly and Axel nodded. Other countries derided them for the custom, but same sex relationships were an open fact of life in Ashara. It was just understood that they couldn't get in the way of the important business of siring and bearing children. Life could be very hard in the Northlands.

"Well, I'll do my duty." Axel finally sighed and made peace with it. It really was his duty now. There was no way around it. "But I don't have to like it." Riku nodded and set a hand comfortingly on his shoulder for a moment.

Sometimes that was all you could do.


	2. The Trip to Ashara

"I _know_ my stuff isn't taking up that much space." Roxas muttered to herself, looking suspiciously at the baggage train behind her. "What's in those carts?" A lot of it would be supplies. It was a very long trip to Ashara. But even given that there were simply too many carts. She had started out her procession a week ago but only now was really noticing the carts. It looked like she was the head of a merchant procession. It was just too much _stuff_ and curiosity was eating her alive.

"Raoul!" She called to her Captain. He was in charge of her guards for the trip although he technically answered to her. He rode up with a smile and she smiled back. He was a slightly older man with dark brown hair and a nose that had been broken sometime in his career. "I was wondering. What's in the carts?" It was probably easiest just to ask rather than wonder about it.

"Oh, well. Since we're going anyway your father decided to have us bring some pearls and other trade goods to sell and bring back a load of King's Amber, furs and firestones." Roxas blinked at that, remembering the rich red amber that was the symbol of the Royal House of Ashara and the glorious firestones that were found in the Fangwulf mountains. They were hideously expensive in Reyerton but would be much cheaper at the source. It was like her father to try to use the trip to recoup a bit of the expense. "And your dowry, of course."

"Of course." Roxas echoed then suddenly frowned. "Raoul, how big is my dowry?" She didn't know and it suddenly occurred to her that that was an odd omission. Raoul hesitated.

"Big enough." He said easily and Roxas glowered before looking at the carts suspiciously. "Let me put it this way Your Highness. Your parents have been putting it away since you were five."

"…Oh." She said faintly before shaking her head. "Thank you Raoul." That explained why King Cristopher was willing to have his son marry her despite her… problem. No doubt her father had bribed him thoroughly. "Ugh." Roxas vaguely wondered if she could get a fortress named after herself. Given Ashara's history and the still bitter feud with Aarin that was likely what they were going to spend it on.

The caravan slowly made their way across Reyerton, then through Sloodi, and then they carefully bypassed Aarin, taking a ship for the final stage of the trip. Three Asharan battle cruisers met them at Sloodi's port, for additional support. Everything went well and they landed on Ashara's coast. It was a rocky, forbidding place but a great port had been chiseled into the cliffs with magic and muscle. For the first time, Roxas got to see the Kingdom that would be her new home.

It was a bit underwhelming. Despite the size of the harbor the seaside town wasn't that big and seemed to owe its existence almost entirely to the King's fleet that was stationed there. It was a very large fleet though and the cove was highly defensible. Roxas was sure just from a brief glance that this was a land well prepared for war even if they didn't particularly want it. And no doubt the ships came in handy for taking care of pirates as well. Almost all of Ashara's trade came by sea since Aarin imposed harsh taxes on anyone trying to travel through to trade with their Northern neighbor. Ashara needed to protect its trading ships from any pirates or privateers.

Roxas was soon agog though. The other countries she'd passed through were rather similar to Reyerton in customs although Sloodi had some rather odd religious practices. Ashara was clearly another kettle of fish. She turned to watch the dock workers who were helping unload and soon realized that a sizeable minority of them were women. Big, strapping women mostly, but women. In Reyerton that would have been unthinkable. Sora had been right that women could be many things but it certain jobs were – unladylike. There was a firm division of labor and something like this that required hard, physical effort would be considered man's work. The Asharans clearly saw things differently.

"You noticed the ladies, eh?" Roxas almost jumped out of her skin at Captain Raoul's soft murmur in her ear. He grinned at her reaction. "It's the nomad history. Aarin doesn't do things this way but those nomads would use their women for pack mules if they had to."

"You make it sound nasty." Roxas suddenly wondered if the women were really pleased to be doing something so physically demanding. Raoul just shrugged.

"How it is up here. It's a harsh land and too many people die young. But we won't have to worry about that." But we he meant Roxas but she still appreciated the thought. "Come, Your Highness, we're ready to go to the inn." Everything had been carefully arranged ahead of time via wizard messages. The inn would be ready for them and no doubt delighted with how many rooms they'd booked.

So it proved. They had booked the entire inn as it happened and the spread the innkeeper and his kitchens put out for them was wonderful. Roxas was relieved to be off the ship and tucked in with good appetite, although the spices were all subtly different than what she was used to. It was mostly seafood and very fresh, along with heavy brown bread that soaked up the savory juices very well. There was a very nice wine available but she didn't drink deeply. It was late in the day and wine on top of her tiredness would soon put her out. Soon Roxas found herself yawning and pulled herself up.

"I'm to bed. Good night everyone." She said softly and Raoul pried himself out of his corner to show her to her room. It was the best in the inn and she was pleased to see that someone had drawn a bath for her, keeping it warm with little magical stones on the sides of the bathtub. It was a useful magic that could be found almost everywhere and she slid into the water with a blissful sigh, finally cleaning herself properly after a week on the ship.

Perhaps this would be a good place to be.

* * *

"She's arrived at the harbor." Zexion peered intently into his crystal ball as Axel and his father, King Cristopher, waited patiently. "Everything seems to be going well. No signs of battle damage on any of the ships." That was a relief. They'd all been afraid Aarin would try to capture the Princess to use against them although that would have been a very risky thing to do. It could easily have meant war with Reyerton. Clearly they'd decided against it.

"Excellent. Come Axel, get a real look at your fiancée." The King said jovially and Axel sighed to himself before stepping up to the table and looking into the crystal ball. He was no wizard but that was only because he lacked the interest. He had the talent and some of the skill.

It was an open secret that the land of Ashara was full of wizards. Exposure to the wild magic of the North led to magical talent and the nomads had always been full of it. And the Glacial River that traveled out of the mountains and directly through the City of Ashara was infected with magic. Almost everyone in the city at least had a weak gift and the Royal family had owned plenty of wizards in its day. The Skull Queen had been a powerful witch, to name just one. It was all a very good thing although it could occasionally lead to headaches when something magical got out of hand.

In any case, Axel had the talent and ability to look into the ball and take control from Zexion, getting a good view of the girl he was about to marry. Her hair had already been cropped to Asharan norms, he noticed. It made her look very much like a young boy, actually, and Axel found to his surprise that he was actually interested. The spiky blond hair and very flat chest were attractive to him. Briefly he wondered if his father had done that on purpose. It was possible, his father really did care about his happiness.

"She is very pretty." Axel said and actually meant it. "I hope she'll be happy here." From that brief glimpse he'd caught of her shining eyes and interested expression she seemed to be enjoying her adventure. He hoped that would last. It would be difficult if his new bride decided she disliked Ashara. He still wondered what was wrong with her though. "…That's a lot of carts. Surely that isn't all the dowry." The King coughed as Axel shot him a suspicious look. "Father?"

"Erm, yes." The King was pretty much an older version of himself, down to the tattoos on his face, and he flushed the exact same way when he was embarrassed. "I believe some of those carts are trading goods but she is bringing a considerable dowry."

"How much?" Axel demaneded, his suspicions deepening. What was wrong with this Princess that they were giving this kind of bribe? Zexion was taking a drink of wine when his father answered and Axel had to jump back as he spat it out all over the globe. "What?!?" The sum his father had just named had been enough to build not just one, but several fortresses. It was a purely outrageous amount for a dowry. Zexion muttered apologies and grabbed a towel to clean off the globe but Axel ignored him. "Father, what is wrong with this Princess?" He desperately wanted to know now. His father sighed.

"Son, she's barren." Axel blinked and stared. "She's also the elder twin and there's some issue with that." Axel frowned, not understanding. How could that be a problem in Reyerton? They didn't let girls inherit, he was fairly sure. "The barren issue though means that –"

"They need to marry her off to a place where the King can have multiple wives." It wasn't hard to follow the logic. "But why us? Why not Aarin or Yoshvar or some of the Southern islands?" They all practiced multiple marriages and surely they wouldn't have needed to resort to this kind of bribe with one of them. His father shook his head.

"They mostly consider her barrenness to be a punishment of the Gods." Axel's eyebrows shot up at that. What was his father getting at? "I'm not going to talk about it further. It's a private matter. You can ask her yourself when she gets here, or not. But she'll be a fine wife to you and you'll be marrying the Alexandra girl next year." That girl was minor nobility and not eligible to be a First Wife, but she'd do fine for a Second Wife. "And we're looking to see about cementing a few trade treaties with Sloodi, so you might get a younger daughter from there for your third." The King seemed interested in planning his matrimonial future. Axel rolled his eyes at the annoying enthusiasm.

"One step at a time father." It made him wonder though. What would be considered a punishment of the Gods? It was clear why the King of Reyerton had picked Ashara for his daughter though. They didn't believe in the Gods that way. Or rather, they were so accustomed to all kinds of magical beasts and abominations that anything done to humans was mostly taken in stride. Several of Axel's ancestors had altered themselves in various ways and to this day people were using magic to increase their abilities. Whatever had rendered this girl barren would likely be nothing to his people. But what was it that his father was being so coy about? "I might ask her when she gets here." Although he wasn't sure about that. Roxas might be sensitive to her disability. He'd have to feel it out a bit.

Axel blinked and looked at the empty crystal ball. Was he actually looking forward to meeting his bride to be? To his surprise, he found that he was.

There was nothing like a good mystery to get Axel interested.

* * *

"This place is so beautiful." Roxas was delighted with the landscape of Ashara.

Right now they were riding through the great plains of Ashara. There were great herds of cattle and nomad ranchers tending them, but also huge farms where the grain of the Kingdom was grown. This was the breadbasket of Ashara and Roxas was astonished to feel real magic at work on those peasant farms. In Reyerton magic was a thing you found in the towns and cities. The most villages would have might be a bit of herb magic in the hands of a healer, but here she sensed powerful fertility and anti-pest enchantments at work.

It didn't take long to find out why and the answer had enchanted Roxas all over again. A few innocent questions at the inn had led to many stories about the wild magic of the North. The Asharans swore they were all true although Roxas had her doubts. She hoped some of them weren't true, especially the tales of a thing called a Glimmergaus. But all the storytellers agreed that living in the North led to great mystical talent and the farmers were all very good with the anti-pest wards. They needed to be. The growing season was short, but with the aide of magic they could often get two crops in yet keep the land strong and vigorous for the next year.

They finally left the plains for the deep forests that surrounded the Fangwulf Mountains. They were great pine forests and Roxas saw trees the like of which she'd never seen before, monsters that seemed to have stepped out of some ancient time before humans had even existed. Their guide explained cheerfully that while they did log the woods, the City of Ashara only really needed wood for the coking ovens and furniture. Private homes used magic for heating, fueled by the wild magic of the Glacial River. Apparently it was a safe way to bleed off much of the magic before it could do anything unfortunate.

"This is amazing. Magic is like a natural resource here." Roxas said and the guide looked started by the thought, but nodded. He'd never thought of it that way but indeed it was. "You're very fortunate."

"Indeed we are Your Majesty. Without the wild magic I reckon the Aarin bastards would have been right about our ancestors never making it up here." Raoul frowned at that coarse term but Roxas smiled. She liked how the Asharans didn't hesitate to swear in front of a woman. And their women were pretty good at swearing too from what she'd heard at one of the inns.

"I think I might like it here." She murmured and the guide laughed. She looked at the man questioningly and he gave her a snaggletoothed grin.

"I'll believe that when you've been here through a winter, Your Highness. This is the nice time of year." Roxas winced but smiled and nodded. She knew he was right. The real trial would be the winter and all the things that went with it. Although she would be in a nice comfortable castle for most of it so it surely wouldn't be that bad. Roxas was used to being confined to the castle after all.

They finally broke out of the woods and Roxas stared at the City of Ashara. It was built out of coarse grey stone and there were gargoyles and other fantastic stone figures perched along the edges of the buildings. The city smelled a bit odd and Roxas wrinkled her nose, trying to identify it. It smelled a bit like rotten eggs. They slowly winded their way through the town and Roxas got to look at the people of the city. She was very glad she'd chopped off her hair before she'd arrived. Sometimes in the plains the women wore their hair to their shoulders but here the short style was definitely in. People were pointing at her and staring and Roxas couldn't help but blush. She wasn't used to this much attention… and it felt like friendly curiosity. In Reyerton the feelings towards her were always much stiffer.

The castle was as dark and imposing as she'd expected. Raoul announced her in a loud, ringing voice as the gate guard challenged them. With ponderous slowness the great gates swung inward and they road over the bridge into the castle. Roxas glanced down into the dark waters of the moat and thought she saw something large swimming in there. Did the moat have monsters? Back home she'd have thought that was ridiculous but if it was fueled with water from the Glacial River, perhaps it wasn't ridiculous at all.

Roxas swung down off her horse as two men with bright red hair came out to greet her. One was older and dressed in slightly finer garb, with a crown on his head. That had to be the King. Her attention was immediately riveted to the second man. The miniature portrait she'd been given had been very accurate and she could recognize Axel immediately. Although the picture hadn't managed to capture his lively smile and the way his green eyes seemed to glow in the sun. Roxas swallowed nervously and patted the black stallion's neck as her fiancée stepped forward to greet her.

"Hey there." He said softly and smiled. "I'm Prince Axel of Ashara. Greetings, my lady." He took her hand and gave her a kiss in the Reyerton fashion, eliciting a surprised laugh from some of the gate guards. Roxas blushed but found that she was pleased. He'd cared enough to research how they did things in her home.

"Thank you Prince. I'm Princess Roxas of Reyerton." She glanced at the stallion and remembered what she was supposed to do. "My Father sends this stallion, Dark Cloud Rising as a token of his regard to you and your father." She glanced at the King but he seemed content to let his son handle things. Not surprising, really, since she was Axel's fiancée. Axel looked at the stallion consideringly then smiled, giving him a gentle scratch. The horse leaned into it, pleased with the attention.

"He's very well behaved, but Dark Cloud Rising is a bit of a mouthful. What do you call him?" He asked her and Roxas blinked.

"Uh, Darky." She knew that nickname would have pained her father. He hated how she gave the best horses of his stables silly nicknames. But Axel grinned.

"Short and easy to yell. Much better. I hope you like it here Darky." He patted the horse one more time before looking into Roxas' eyes and dropping his voice. She felt a momentary flutter at the husky, intimate tone. "And I hope you do, too." Then he took her hand with a smile, stepping back so a groom could take the horse. Other grooms and servants were already seeing to the rest of the caravan. "Now, are you tired from the trip? We could take a few refreshments before I show you the rest of the castle."

"Please." Roxas really was a bit tired from riding half the day and a good glass of wine would be welcome. There would be plenty of time to see Castle Fangwulf.

The rest of her life in fact.


	3. Roxas has a Friend

Roxas shared a cup of wine with Axel as the rest of her party got settled in. They would all be staying at the castle for a couple weeks to sell their trade goods and rest up the horses. Roxas was going to miss Raoul and the other soldiers but Axel turned out to be surprisingly good company as he began showing her the castle. It wasn't as dark as she had thought it would be. Magic lights were everywhere and they mimicked daylight astonishingly well.

"Castle Fangwulf! It was built by my Royal Ancestor Egregious Ashara." Axel grinned at the surprised look on Roxas face. "He lived up to his name. This place is the product of truly diseased minds. No one's ever managed to sort out all the traps in the attic."

"So I shouldn't go up there then?" Roxas asked and Axel shrugged.

"All the unsafe areas are blocked off with walls and spells. Anything you can reach, go for it." The castle had plenty of places that were blocked off to most people. Some, like the attic were simply unsafe. Others were Royal family only.

Axel was finding, to his surprise, that he really liked his fiancée. If he ignored the skirts he could easily pretend she was a young boy from the town. And Roxas possessed a kittenish curiosity. She stopped with a gasp, looking at one of the pictures and Axel looked curiously.

"She really did wear a skull on her hoo-haa?!?" Axel grinned. It was a picture of the Skull Queen standing in full regalia. Unlike the picture in the book she was wearing leather chaps with a silver skull sewn on. As well as similar skulls on her chest.

"Sort of. It's silver and only sewn on the top so she could mount up easily. Grandma always had a fondness for skulls. I'll have to show you her drinking cup collection." He saw with amusement that Roxas' eyes were very round at that.

"Oh, I forgot, she was your grandmother. You really knew her?" Now that she was seeing a really good picture of the Queen she could see the resemblance to Axel. He nodded.

"Oh yes. She was a wonderful grandmother." Axel smiled to himself as he remembered it. "She could always tell the most amazing stories. And most of them weren't lies." He was sure that at least a few had been exaggerated to amuse the grandkids, but mostly she hadn't needed to. The Skull Queen had led a very interesting life. "She embarrassed dad. He's actually kind of boring for our family. Want to see some of the other notable characters?" Axel took her down the line of portraits, pointing out the ones who had done something really amazing or appalling. Roxas stared at the portrait of King Albertus. It was definitely worth a second look.

"What happened to him?" She had to ask and Axel smiled, looking up at his esteemed ancestor. The man had had scales and distinctly flat, snake-like eyes. Fortunately it hadn't been inheritable.

"The wild magic. It's not exactly common, but children can sometimes be warped by it in the womb. If the changes are minor the wizards can make the child look normal. But if the changes are too severe it's usually better to go the other way and just make the changes as pleasant looking as possible or even enhance them." Axel caught a flash of sadness in Roxas eyes and wondered why that bothered her. "In Albertus case the family histories say they made the scales mesh much better with his skin. There was nothing they could do about the eyes."

"Ah." The scales actually didn't look that bad, rather glittery and almost pretty if the painting was accurate. The picture gallery also held all kinds of trophies, including the collection of drinking cups. Roxas actually found it rather thrilling, handling a cup made from the skull of a defeated enemy. The inside was lined with silver so it could actually hold wine well.

"This is the main dining room." Roxas glanced around the large chamber. There were great fireplaces in either end of the room although they were currently unlit. "The lower tables are for lower ranks, going up to the high table. Don't worry about knowing where to sit, the pages will show you." A young page dressed in the Ashara colors, amber and dark brown, was in the room polishing some of the candelabra. Roxas nodded to him and he waved shyly before going back to his task.

Axel continued showing her the rest of the castle. They couldn't cover it all, but he hit most of the high points like the kitchen, library and drawing rooms. The castle had many large, spacious rooms with high ceilings to make up for the lack of windows and Roxas found that it was very pleasant. Some of the statues were more risqué than anything Reyerton would have tolerated and Roxas wondered. Was she a prude? Probably not since she thought they were delightful. Imagining how her parents would have reacted was enough to make her smile. The people in the castle were friendly and curious but a little cautious. Roxas thought that was just the usual worry that she might be a spoiled, demanding little Princess. Plenty of girls like that had visited her castle over the years so she knew the type.

Things changed dramatically when Axel took her out into the courtyard. Roxas looked around curiously at the soldiers practicing… then stared as she saw that several of them were women. Not very many, perhaps, but still quite a few and they were being treated exactly like the men. Axel whistled sharply before calling out.

"Xion!" Roxas blinked as a black haired young woman stopped her sparring and walked over, an easy bounce in her step. She was short and very slender but moved with an energy that made Roxas suspect she'd be a deadly opponent. "Roxas, this is your new bodyguard, Xion. She'll accompany you whenever you leave the palace." Roxas sighed to herself. She'd hoped she could get away from bodyguards, but that was probably stupid. As a Queen to be she was no doubt an attractive target for kidnapping. She was probably lucky to only have one guard and a girl to boot.

"Hello Xion. It's nice to meet you." Roxas glanced at the people exercising and suddenly asked. "Could I learn to fight too?" Axel and Xion both looked surprised and Xion suddenly grinned wickedly.

"Why sure you could! I'd love to teach you!" Axel looked faintly alarmed and Roxas blinked. That hadn't been the response she'd been expecting. "Why don't we get started right now. ZOLI! Fetch this girl some trousers!" Xion looked Roxas over critically. "She looks my size."

"Uh, Xion. I was showing her around." Axel protested but Xion waved it off.

"I can finish that later. Go prong some boy in the bathroom or whatever it is you do in your spare time." Axel flushed beet red and Roxas' mouth dropped open at that. "Go, shoo, or I'll tell her aaaaallll about that challenge you made to whore's guild."

"You – you – gah! One of these days someone's going to knife you and I'm going to be there dancing on your grave." Xion just laughed as Axel stalked off and linked arms with Roxas. She looked after him worriedly but Xion pulled her towards a little changing room.

"Don't worry about him. His bark is worse than his bite. Mind you, he's never bit me, I'm not his type… here we go, put these on." Roxas quickly changed as Xion politely looked away. The clothes she was wearing now were leather pants, well worn and comfortable along with a linen shirt. "Now, put this on too." This was a padded leather armor for her chest. "Good. Now first, let's start with general exercises. Laps girl! Let's see you run!" Roxas yelped as Xion smacked her back and got her running around the courtyard. What had she gotten herself into? As it turned out, a lot. After a run to get warmed up Xion put her through some exercises to determine her level of skill.

"Hoy! Who trained you? They should be stood up against a tree and shot!" Xion's disgust with her abilities was obvious and Roxas blushed.

"Sora… we just played. He was learning to fight and I, well, wasn't." Sora had tried his best but he'd gotten bored halfway through most of the time. And he had been busy learning to run the Kingdom. Xion's expression lightened a little bit.

"Oh, your brother? They can be such useless toads. Well, it's time to learn this the right way!" By the time they were done Roxas felt exhausted and had collected a nice assortment of bruises. But she'd gamely kept trying even when she felt about ready to fall down. "Not bad for a first day. Here, let's do some stretching exercises so you don't stiffen up." Xion showed her the stretches and Roxas had to admit she felt better when she was done them. "Now for the most important part of the palace. I bet Axel didn't show you it, he's such a man."

"Huh? What's that?" Roxas was baffled as Xion grabbed her discarded gown and draped it over one arm before taking her back into the palace.

"The bathing rooms of course!" Xion flung open a door and Roxas gasped as she was bathed in warm air. "Hope you don't mind co-ed. No molesting anyone in the baths though or you'll get a kick out."

"I-I co-ed?" Roxas said faintly, eyes going wide as a naked man walked past her to the change rooms. "…!" She swayed a bit but Xion grabbed her arm and firmly took her to the woman's change room.

"Don't stare, they'll think you've never seen it before and before you know it they'll all be trying to impress you with the size of their cocks." Roxas choked at the thought, reflecting ruefully that this place was making her feel like a hopeless prude. But in Reyerton they just didn't have baths like this, ever. Just the thought would have been unthinkable. Xion paused for a moment, looking at her thoughtfully. "I hope I'm not shocking you too much with all this. But we're not shy up here."

"I – It's a shock but I live here now. I'll get used to it." Roxas said more bravely than she felt and Xion smiled.

"I think you'll fit right in. And the hot water feels soooo good on bruises." That thought got Roxas pulling off her new trousers. She was sure Xion was right. Soon the two of them were in the water, although Roxas couldn't help but blush and tried to keep her eyes firmly fixed on the water in front of her. Xion had no such compunctions and poked her shoulder. "Look! There's Riku. Isn't he a fine man? Too bad he's taken by a complete wildcat." She sighed wistfully and Roxas glanced up to see a silver haired man sliding down into the water. She blushed again at the sight of a very well-muscled, attractive chest and looked down. "Speaking of whom, there she is." Roxas looked up again as a beautiful woman with flaming red hair and a faint resemblance to Axel slid into the water beside Riku. She had snapping green eyes and a brilliant smile. "That's Kitty. You can look at Riku but don't touch, she breaks fingers."

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm engaged to be married." Roxas sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. Then she opened them as she felt Xion watching her. "What?"

"Um." Xion clearly was torn on whether or not she should say anything but finally decided she needed to broach the subject. "You know you can have lovers, right?" Roxas stared at her, taken aback.

"I can?!?" In Reyerton that would also have been unthinkable. But Xion nodded, expression serious.

"As long as you wear a pendant tuned to Axel so only his seed can take in you, it's fine. These arranged marriages can be pretty loveless sometimes. One of your ancestors came up with that and it's been the custom ever since." Xion coughed into her hand then. "And well. Axel isn't… he's a very nice man, don't get me wrong. But he likes the cock." Roxas blushed as she caught Xion's meaning. "So I'm not sure how all of this will work out."

"I'm sure we'll do fine." That made Roxas wonder a bit. Would Axel find her attractive? She wasn't normal for a woman. "And I can't have children." She couldn't keep the sadness out of her voice. Having children was a natural part of a woman's life and it was something she absolutely couldn't do. Xion winced.

"Oh. Forget the pendant then. Say, you know what we should do sometime soon?" Roxas looked at her expectantly, glad that the other girl seemed to be changing the subject. "We should go shopping! All those clothes of yours are really weird. You need some court gowns in the Asharan style! I bet you'll like them too we ladies like to strut our stuff." Roxas blushed and laughed.

"I don't have any stuff to strut." She pointed out with a giggle. It was too true, she had no chest to speak of. Xion just shrugged. She wasn't a whole lot more endowed than Roxas.

"If they can suit me up they can outfit you. And that's why god gave us padding. And I hear they sent one hell of a dowry with you. We should get the chance to blow some of it hey?" Xion grinned wickedly and Roxas found that she agreed.

"If you promise not to beat me up so much, maybe we can do that tomorrow?" Roxas asked hopefully and Xion laughed.

"Weasel! Well maybe." Roxas smiled and listened as Xion pointed out some of the other noteworthy inhabitants of the castle, complete with personality quirks and habits.

It seemed that she had a friend.

* * *

"So how are the girls getting on?" Riku and Axel were catching a late lunch, ensconced in a small table in the corner of the kitchen. Lunches were very informal compared to dinner.

"Very good. Too good. I think Xion's going to be a corrupting influence." Axel said a bit morosely. He liked Xion but a little of her went a long way. "Roxas is really nice though, I think I like her." It was hard to say from just one day but she was just so… so cute. She was so short and slender and felt gentle and vulnerable. No doubt that was partly because she was lost in an entirely new land but it made Axel want to hold and protect her. Riku smiled faintly.

"It's weird but I think she could work out for you. She reminds me of that kid, what was his name? Marteen? The apprentice wizard you had a thing with last year." Axel blushed a bit as he remembered that affair. It had ended when the wizard had left to set up a workshop somewhere more secluded but Riku was right. Roxas did have the same kind of boyish beauty as his old flame. "Even her voice is a bit boyish." Axel nodded. Roxas' voice did have a slightly odd timber for a girl although it wasn't at all unpleasant. Rather the reverse.

"I wonder if that has anything to do with why she's barren." Axel mused to himself and Riku shrugged before eating a pickle. It crunched loudly even in the bustling kitchen.

"Probably. Do you think I should introduce Kitty to her?" Axel considered it and shuddered.

"Please no. Xion is bad enough, if you let Kitty get her claws into her too she'll be kicking my ass in the practice field." Riku grinned at the thought and took a deep drink of his water. It was straight from the Glacial River and very pure. The touch of magic in it was also pleasant. Riku didn't have a strong gift but he had more than enough to feel it. Axel took a drink of his own water then looked at it thoughtfully. "I wonder if she'll react to the water?" If Roxas had any kind of magical gift it would soon flower under the influence of the Glacial River.

"Zexion will be around to help her if she does." Riku opened his sandwich and looked at it thoughtfully. "Pass the mustard?" Axel grinned and passed the jar over so Riku could add a bit to his sandwich.

They would have to see but so far things were going very well.

* * *

Roxas rubbed her eyes fiercely. She'd gone to the dinner with Axel and had very much enjoyed it. The food had been good and after the meal was done the tables had been cleared away for dancing. Axel had proven to be a very good dancer and she'd stayed up longer than she should have.

Now she was paying for it and Xion was not inclined to have much mercy.

"Come on, move it! My mother can run faster and she's twice your age!" Roxas whimpered a little but increased her speed. Xion did go much easier on her today than she had the previous day though and soon enough they were soaking in the hot tub again. "I'm only going light on you for the shopping you know. Tomorrow we'll get down to business."

"Yes Xion." Roxas said obediently. She might be the Princess and technically she could order Xion around, but then the black haired girl could just refuse to teach her. And Roxas desperately wanted to learn to fight. There was no reason she couldn't ride to war right by Axel's side.

"Hmm, you want to ride that lovely black stallion you brought in? Or something else?" Xion asked as she looked over the horses and waited for a stablehand to notice them. Roxas frowned.

"Xion, how will we bring our purchases back to the palace if we're riding?" They couldn't pack much on a horse. They'd need a carriage. Xion just smiled.

"We won't. The big places will deliver to the palace and the smaller places will make arrangements with the big ones if we buy enough." Xion was quite sure they would do it for even a small purchase for a new Princess, but she didn't want to ask that of the smaller stores. The big ones would charge them for it. Roxas blinked and nodded.

"Oh, I see." She was sure the stores in Reyerton wouldn't have done that but it was a very nice idea. "We should get some tailored dresses as well as ones off the rack." The bigger stores would likely have something that could fit her immediately but the more personal works of an expert tailor would be better for the long run. Xion nodded.

"I know some really good seamstresses and tailors. The King's wives are all unbelievable…" A stablehand finally noticed them and asked what they needed. "Darky, the new black stallion, and my Hinterhoof please." Soon the stallion and a chunky bay mare were ready to go. Xion swung up easily and Roxas mounted just as fluidly. "You're a good rider, hey? What do you think of my Hinterhoof?"

"She's very nice." Roxas said diplomatically. She privately thought she'd never seen a mare that looked as mismatched as Xion's mount. Xion grinned.

"Nah, she's horrible. My father had some nutty idea that he could breed his stallion with the crappy shoulder to a mare with a great shoulder but no butt and ugly face and get the best of both. Instead he got his stallion's crappy shoulder along with no butt and a face like someone threw up on her." Xion patted her mare's shoulder with a perverse pride. "If we could geld a mare she'd be barren right now, poor thing." Roxas couldn't help but laugh at that. Xion had just pointed out the worst flaws of her horse with unerring accuracy.

"I hope your father got out of the breeding business after that." Xion nodded with a grin.

"Too many of them ended up steaks." Roxas winced but wasn't too surprised by that. The histories had mentioned that the Northern nomads, before the rebels from Aarin conquered them, had lived on the reindeer and wild horses. They'd had no compunctions about hunting and killing horses and a lot of Ashara's character came from those nomads. "Let's stop at the jewelry shop first!" Roxas looked at the storefront, enchanted. Big, beautiful stones winkled from behind iron bars. "But don't buy any King's Amber." Roxas blinked, startled. Why shouldn't she? Xion explained. "I shouldn't tell you this but you know that special feast to honor you at the end of the week? Axel is going to have a present of King's Amber for you. Let's not ruin it for him."

"Oh!" That made her heart feel warm. King's Amber was the symbol of the Royal family of Ashara, so giving it to her on a feast to her honor would be a wonderfully symbolic gift. "That's sweet. Maybe some firestones then?" She didn't own any at the moment and the glorious colors of the stones were entrancing. Xion nodded with a smile.

"Sounds good." Soon they found a lovely pendant and a matching ring that suited Roxas very well. Xion settled on something more suited to her means, a thick silver chain with a pendant of amethyst and garnet.

For Roxas the day seemed to pass too quickly. Xion taught her a lot about the rugged character of Ashara just by being herself. She was also interested in hearing about Reyerton and Roxas gradually opened up about her strict upbringing as a Princess. Xion was a bit horrified by some of it which made Roxas laugh.

"No sex before marriage? How do you know if he's any good? What if he snores something awful?" Roxas grinned as they both tried on some gowns. Xion looked at herself critically in the mirror before snorting and pulling off her purple dress. "Terrible."

"Well Xion, we don't have cheap magic charms like you do up here." Roxas gently teased the black haired girl. They'd already gone to a magic shop and Roxas had been amazed by the prices. Anyone could afford the charms up here and they could be recharged for a while by anyone with the gift. "So getting pregnant or diseased is a real risk." Xion made a face at that.

"Ewww. I never realized how much difference the Glacial River makes. Although I suppose people down in Reyerton don't have to worry about getting eaten by a troll or taken by the Glimmergaus. Oh Roxas, you look wonderful!" Xion paused to admire the gown Roxas was wearing. It was white and black and along with the lightly padded bra, it hugged her in all the right ways. "I don't think a seamstress could do better. You have to get it."

"You're right." Roxas nodded and carefully took off the gown, putting it into her 'keep' pile. "Here, Xion, why don't you try this?" This was a black gown. Roxas had tried it but didn't like the way it looked with the padded bra. Xion tried it on and beamed. She actually had breasts so it worked well on her.

"Perfect! Thanks Roxas." Giggling and whispering the two girls made their way to the cash to pay for their purchases and get everything delivered to the palace. "So are you hungry? I'm hungry." Xion squinted at the sun. "It's noon if I'm any judge. Let's get some nibbles." Soon they were at a comfortable little café being served little skewers of chicken, onions and vegetables with a few sauces. Roxas looked at them dubiously as Xion dipped her chicken into a bright yellow goo. "Try it, it's good." Roxas tentatively did and yelped softly at the bite. "Oh sorry. That's hot mustard. Try the catsup if it's too hot." Roxas enjoyed that more and ate a good meal. Xion had insisted she eat a bowl of porridge before the exercises in the morning but that had been some time ago.

"Xion?" Roxas said shyly as the dark girl tossed a piece of chicken into the air and caught it neatly in her teeth. "You don't mind being my bodyguard, do you?" Xion blinked at that question and swallowed before answering.

"Mind? Glacier's end, why would I mind? I was worried that old Seph would get tired of me and send me out to Laas Fortress down at the border. There's nothing there but grass and the Aarin when they start raiding again. Now I'll stay in the city for sure and I'm serving the most interesting Princess this place has ever seen. Why would I mind?" Roxas swallowed back a lump in her throat. No one had ever really wanted to be around her before except for Sora. Being her bodyguard had always been more of a punishment. "Roxas?"

"It's nothing." She smiled then and it was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. "I'm just glad to be here." Xion looked puzzled but pleased.

"Glad you like it." She wasn't sure why Roxas liked it so much but she was glad it was so.

It was a good omen.


	4. The Feast and Intimacies

_Hello Sora!_

_I'm writing you this before Raoul leaves so he can carry it with him. I've looked into how much it costs to send a letter to Reyerton from here. Would you believe it's five gold pennies? And very rarely too, since I have to leave it with the post until they can find a caravan going to the port. Then it has to go on a ship to Sloodi… well, you get the picture. I can see why they charge a fortune considering all the hands it would have to go through._

_Ashara is beautiful in the summer. It's much cooler than Reyerton and a bit windy but I rather like that. I'm worried about the winter though. The water here is a bit strange. It tastes sort of fizzy but Axel says that's from all the magic in the water._

_Prince Axel… I'm not sure where to start. He really is handsome Sora and I think he likes me. He's always so kind and sometimes the looks he gives me are a bit heated. I've never been looked at that way before. Xion says he likes boys so maybe it's not surprising. I bet some part of him can tell. I'm still worried about, well, you know. We'll have to see how that goes._

_That reminds me. Xion! She's my bodyguard here. She's just amazing. I've never met a girl like her in my life! She's been teaching me to fight Sora, really fight. I have to run laps every morning and then spar until I feel like I'm going to fall over but I'm finding that I really enjoy it. Isn't that strange? But it's good to know I can fight. And Xion can tell me the most amazing stories and she seems to know everyone in the castle. She took me shopping and we got some of the loveliest clothes although Mother wouldn't approve. The styles up here are a bit revealing. Fortunately there are padded bras or I'd be in trouble._

_I can just hear you now. "So how'd the marriage go?" It hasn't yet. We have to be married at the Spring of Dawning Magic, apparently. It's a little spring that is powerfully magical and feeds into the Glacial River. It's not responsible for all the magic in it, according to Xion and Axel, but a large part. It's thought to be blessed by the gods and Royalty always celebrates a first marriage there. But it's not going to be accessible until the spring flow is over so we have maybe a month before we consummate things._

_People are starting to trickle into the castle for that. I can't say I like all of them and Xion has a lot to say…_

* * *

"Die in a fire. Soon." Roxas was startled by the hiss. She was standing at one of the arrow slits in the castle. It was meant for archers to fire down if someone managed to breach the wall, but it gave a fairly good view of the courtyard.

"Xion?" She said uncertainly. Surely the black haired girl didn't mean her. But Xion was standing at another arrow slit and glaring down into the courtyard.

"Bitch." Xion muttered a few more colorful imprecations and Roxas tried to figure out who her ire was directed at. "Raspberry whore." That gave her the clue she needed and Roxas figured out that Xion was talking about the girl being helped out of a carriage by an older, solicitous gentleman. Her hair was a beautiful raspberry blonde shade and done in intricate braids. Her gown was pure white, spangled with little silver sequins and cut to reveal ample endowments.

"You know her?" Roxas asked, hoping to get some useful information from her bodyguard. Xion seemed to know something about everyone.

"Do I?" Xion spat on the floor and Roxas winced and repressed the urge to tell her to stop being gross. "That's Kohla Talvisdottor of House Ravenclaw. I fucking hate her."

"Erm, why?" Roxas couldn't tell much from up here but the girl looked nice enough. Xion hissed.

"What isn't there to dislike? She's a petty, demanding little bitch. The kind of noble who goes into a shop and demands that the shopkeeper drop everything and attend to _her_ because she's obviously the centre of the universe. She also expects every man under the sun to fawn over her because she's such a beauty don't you know? And she looks down on us who actually use our bodies for something other than looking like an ornament in the window." Xion drew a breath and laughed softly as she saw Roxas startled expression. "Sorry. I just can't stand her." Xion suddenly frowned. "And we'll have to watch out for her. She's going to hate you."

"Me? Why?" Roxas was a bit stunned by that. She'd only been here a week, how could someone hate her? Xion sighed and explained.

"She's of a really good family and thought she'd be tapped as first wife for Axel. It wasn't going to happen in a million years and she was the only one who didn't know it. The King actually cares about how Axel feels and that bitch would make him miserable." Xion shook her head. "Not to mention drive the country into poverty. Her poor father is desperate to get rid of her, she spends money like water."

"Oh, I see. She backstabs?" Roxas knew the type. She'd had to deal with young women like that in Reyerton although none of them had had all the unpleasant qualities Xion was attributing to Kohla. Some had come close though. Xion nodded.

"All the time and you see those other girls with her? They're her own little court. Penniless younger daughters, she supports them." Xion's lips twisted in disgust. "Useless ninnies or utterly poisonous. The one good thing about all this is that the whole castle is onto them after their last visit. We'll look after you." Roxas felt some relief as Xion patted her on the shoulder. These nobles were only here for the wedding, they'd be gone after and the support of the castle's staff would count for a lot.

"Thanks Xion. Is it almost time to meet Axel in the library?" She didn't have a watch and made a note to get one next time she was out. Xion pulled out her current necklace and consulted the pendant which was actually an elegant ladies watch.

"Just about. We can get there early and look at the books." Roxas smiled in pleasure as they walked to the library. She spoke the Northern language better than she read it but she was starting to get the hang of that as well.

She and Axel had fallen into an easy pattern for their meetings. She spent the mornings with Xion and the afternoons with Axel before the evening entertainment. She always took care to get to bed at a good time though. Xion seemed to believe that getting up at the crack of dawn was good for you and Roxas was getting used to it. Axel went to bed fairly early too, she'd noticed.

Xion grabbed a book and settled herself into a corner as Axel came in. She never left Roxas alone except when she was on a particular errand for the Princess but she made herself unobtrusive when the two were together. Roxas was grateful for that. Xion was fun but her personality was a little overwhelming and she wanted to get to know Axel. Warm hands touched her shoulders and Roxas started a little before looking up into green eyes.

"Hello Roxas." Axel gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and Roxas couldn't help but smile. It was so odd being kissed by someone other than Sora but she liked it. "How are you doing? Not too stiff I hope?"

"No, I'm feeling great." To her mild surprise that was true. She was only seventeen and was adapting quickly to Xion's workout regimen. "I saw you practicing too. Will you ever spar with me?" She asked daringly and Axel smiled, taking her hand.

"As soon as Xion says you're ready." Axel privately thought he might have some problems with that. It would be hard to go all out with his fiancée, even with blunted weapons but if they sparred he would have to. He'd be doing her no favors by going easy on her. "Would you like to play a game of Hares and Hounds?" That was Roxas' favorite board game and her face lightened with a genuine smile as Axel took out the pieces. It was an ancient set, carved out of King's Amber and the pieces looked like they were almost alive. "First move to you." That gave her an advantage but Axel didn't mind losing. Roxas was good.

"I was wondering. Where has Riku gone?" Roxas asked as they played. She hadn't seen the silver haired man in a while or Kitty either. Axel frowned as he examined the board before making his move.

"Riku and Kitty have gone off to investigate an outbreak of loup-garou in some Northern villages. If we're lucky, it will just be the usual strain." Roxas blinked at that.

"Loup-garou? Werewolves?" She said, confused. "Aren't they magical wolves?" That was what she had been taught. Her Kingdom had woods that were home to several packs but they were mostly harmless. Axel smiled sadly.

"That's only one version. Those kind are mostly harmless if you treat them right. But loup-garou can also be a kind of disease up here in the North." Axel's lips tightened as he thought about it. "A normal wolf can be a carrier of it. They're unaffected but if they bite a human it can be transmitted. The normal version makes the human suspicious, paranoid and apt to infect anyone close to him. Usually the entire village becomes infected and they're very dangerous for outsiders. That's actually the best case scenario. It's difficult but the villagers can be caught and cleansed." Roxas made her move, listening curiously. "The bad scenario is if a carrier wolf goes rabid. The two diseases seem to join and anyone infected goes completely insane. Such villages give in to all their base instincts and often resort to cannibalism. And that strain is virulent. If that turns out to be the case Riku will have to exterminate anyone affected." Axel sighed as Roxas winced. "Normally I'd be with him and Seph taking care of it. But I need to be here for when the trail to the lake clears." He didn't regret that, really. Killing villagers was not his idea of a fun time no matter how necessary it was.

"Does that sort of thing happen often?" Roxas was beginning to see a definite downside to all the magic here. Such a disease would be completely unknown in Reyerton. Axel smiled as he made his move and watched Roxas pouting cutely as she concentrated on the board. He'd just put her in a bad spot.

"I wouldn't say all the time, but minor incidents do happen every year. And the thing is, our villages are very isolated in the winter. It's possible to lose an entire village to something nasty and only find out in the spring when the traders come by." Roxas suddenly yelped and Axel winced as she found the weakness in his strategy and seized one of his pieces. "Damn." Axel examined the board, trying to find a way out of his fix. Roxas hummed contentedly to herself for a moment.

"Axel, tell me about the Glimmergaus." Roxas suddenly asked as he touched a piece and considered moving it. "The stories don't make any sense. What is it?"

"Hmm? Well, no one really knows." Axel finally made a decision and grimaced as Roxas took another piece. He was being forced onto the defensive now. "No one knows what they physically look like and no one has managed to kill one. All we know is that they seem to feed on souls and the few survivors say that they make you live out your worst fears in a kind of waking nightmare."

"The stories say that the bodies look shriveled when they're done?" Roxas asked and Axel nodded.

"Yes. Fortunately we only lose one or two people to the Glimmergaus a year. Other things are far more dangerous. Not that that's any comfort to anyone a Glimmergaus latches onto." Axel shook his head as Roxas took her move. "I just hope I never meet one." It was unlikely he would be not impossible. Glimmergaus wouldn't attack a large group but even a Prince could end up separated from his attendants if everything went wrong. Roxas nodded somberly. "Ah, I've lost." Axel laid down his hand over his Queen piece to signal his surrender. "Again? And this time I get the first move."

"It won't do you any good." Roxas said with a grin and Axel laughed. She was right and ended up trouncing him soundly again before Xion coughed softly.

"My lady? The supper is only in an hour." Xion gently reminded her and Roxas blushed. She would need to get ready. Axel sighed and started putting away the pieces.

"I need to get ready as well." It was the special feast in Roxas honor and he needed to look his best. Roxas jumped to her feet with a smile that widened when Axel gave her another kiss. "I'll see you later, Princess."

"Later, my Prince." Roxas said almost breathlessly before leaving the room. She felt wonderful and got dressed in her black and white gown without thought. Xion helped her get ready and picked out one perfume in particular for her to wear.

"Try this. It's a scent I know for a fact Axel loves." Roxas wondered how she knew that but decided she didn't care. It was a very sweet little perfume that vaguely reminded her of cotton candy. "I think he likes it because he really loves sweets." Xion grinned as Roxas laughed.

"Well, I do too." She decided she liked the perfume and carefully applied her makeup before looking at herself thoughtfully in the mirror. "I look good, don't I?" Xion had changed into her black dress and was wearing a cute little beret along with it. "Hmm. Maybe I should get a hat."

"And hide your curls? Don't you dare!" Xion ruffled her spiky hair, making her giggle. "Not with this dress anyway. Maybe we could get something to go with that little red number you picked up." Roxas smiled at the thought. A little red hat on her golden curls… yes, that could definitely work. "Leave off the jewelry tonight, except maybe a ring. I hear Axel's going to be giving you a necklace of some sort."

"Oh! Right." She'd almost forgotten that Axel was going to be giving her a piece of King's Amber tonight. "Hmm…" Roxas selected a single ring from her jewelry box, a black hematite band. It was nothing special but went with her gown very well. "I'm ready. You?"

"As always!" They linked arms and walked out, two girls going to supper. Unfortunately they met Kohla on the way. She had changed into a beautiful, peacock blue gown that had clearly been tailored to her and sewn with seed pearls. It was very heavy for the summer but displayed her wealth very well. Roxas privately thought that her own dress was far more elegant. Her strawberry blonde hair was done up with gold and sapphire pins and she was wearing a heavy matching necklace. Her smile at them was wide and false.

"Xion! It's been so long." She purred, her voice thick and smooth. Xion gave her a smile that was just as wide and even less sincere. "You must be Roxas. I've heard so much about you." She sniffed the air ostentatiously. "My dear, what is that scent you're wearing?"

"Just something Axel likes." Xion answered for her and Roxas frowned. She could talk for herself. But from the way Kohla's eyes glittered maybe it was better this way. Roxas couldn't remember ever coming out of this kind of fight on top.

"Oh well. _Axel._" Kohla's voice carried an edge in addition to some disdain. She was trying to convey that men had no taste but her own bitterness showed. "I'm sure he'll love it as much as he loves anything a woman wears. Have fun darling." She stalked away and Roxas couldn't help but glare after her. Even if Axel didn't like women he was trying, wasn't he? And she wasn't – Roxas shut down the thought firmly. She was a woman. It wasn't possible for her to be anything else.

"Bitch." Xion growled and they hurried to the dining room. "She'll be at the high table too and between the two of you and the King." The King was at the head of the table and Axel was at the other end, but longstanding custom. They'd put Roxas beside him. "Hmph." Xion shook her head and Roxas wondered how that could be a problem.

Roxas gasped as she saw some of the preparations for the feast. Great banners had been unfurled over the walls and she could see the standards of all the main noble houses as well as representations of the Gods. The candelabra had all been fitted with little rock crystals that caught the light of the hall and glittered beautifully. The kitchen was already starting to bring out some of the centerpieces and Roxas giggled at a huge baked monstrosity that was supposed to be a stag and a doe curled together.

"Makes you wonder why they didn't just cut to the chase and go with a phallic symbol, eh?" Xion asked with a grin and Roxas laughed.

"Oh but Xion, they would have to cut it up! The horror." Xion winced then laughed. They quickly found their spots at the head table as more people began trickling in. There was no formal process for this but the pages showed the newcomers their spots. Roxas had heard that the seneschal handled the seat assignments, sometimes very quickly. Roxas smiled as Axel took his seat beside her. He'd changed into a black evening suit, cut in the typical Asharan style and decorated with a bit of gold embroidery. He smiled warmly as he saw her gown.

"We look like a matching set." He said and she laughed softly, taking his hand for a moment. They both missed the poisonous look Kohla shot them from further up the table.

Once the King was in, Axel got up and went to his side. They talked for a brief moment before Axel took a small box from him and began making his announcement. Zexion enhanced his voice with a subtle spell so the whole room could hear him easily.

"This feast is being held in honor of my upcoming marriage to my lovely fiancée, Princess Roxas." There was a round of applause and Roxas blushed lightly, smiling. "As a token of my regard for her and a welcome to the family, I have a gift for her. Roxas, come here please." Roxas suddenly understood why Axel had gone up there. In the spot he was standing, the whole room could see him. Smiling, she pushed back her chair and walked around the table –

And yelped as someone tripped her. She stumbled and was about to go down when warm arms encircled her and she found herself looking up into green eyes. _Axel? How did he move so fast? _Roxas was peripherally aware of the fury on Kohla's face but it didn't matter as Axel brought his head down and warm lips caught hers in a slow, intimate kiss. There was a loud cheer from the watching tables and Roxas blushed brightly as Axel grinned, gently steering her to the front of the table. The King was beaming at them both and Roxas felt incredibly grateful to Axel. He had turned what could have been a humiliating episode into a sweet moment.

"Here it is." Axel lifted out the necklace and Roxas gasped. It was very long, the kind of necklace that suited her willowy build and was made of beads of the finest amber strung on a gold chain. But the centerpiece of it was the dangling pendant, a ladies watch set in a beautiful gold casing decorated with more amber and tiny firestones. Not to mention some fine etching on the case… Roxas smiled brilliantly and gave Axel a quick impulsive kiss as he put it on her.

"Thank you!" How had he noticed she didn't have a watch? "It's beautiful." Axel smiled and touched her cheek.

"Not as beautiful as you." Roxas blushed lightly in pleasure at the warmth in his eyes. He really meant it. That was incredibly sweet. They walked back to their end of the table together, hand in hand.

The rest of the meal was wonderful. The cooks had outdone themselves in their efforts for the feast and Roxas found that the edible sculptures were actually very tasty raisin nut bread that went well with a bit of honey. Roxas got to try reindeer steak for the first time and found that it was very good, braised in a blackberry sauce. The best dish, though, was possibly the terrine of foie gras and rabbit. Soon Roxas was feeling a bit stuffed and Axel leaned over with a grin to whisper in her ear.

"Make sure you save room for dessert. It's going to be spectacular." Roxas blinked, wondering what he meant.

She soon found out when the dessert was brought out. Everyone gasped at the beautiful, curled up dragon cake. The scales had been made out of hard, cut sugar and the wings had been spun the same way. Roxas was aware from the cooks at her castle how hard working with sugar that way was. It was lying on a bed of gold wrapped chocolate coin along with bright little bon-bons for gems. It looked so real that it was a shame to cut it up, but if they didn't it would just go bad and soon everyone had a piece of the dragon cake along with a few coins and bon-bons. When she finished her piece of cake Roxas was feeling very content but not sick.

"Would you like to come with me tonight?" Axel asked a touch nervously and Roxas felt a flutter in her stomach. This was the part she was both anticipating and dreading but… she would rather do it before her wedding night. At least then she wouldn't be worried for weeks about it. And… she looked up into green eyes and felt another flutter of desire. She did want to be with Axel.

"Yes." Axel smiled and took her hand. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss before they departed for his rooms.

Soon they were alone in Axel's rooms and Roxas smiled faintly at the lit candles. The magic lights gave more light but candles were very romantic. She shivered faintly as Axel laid a kiss on the back of her neck and began gently undoing her gown. It was soon in a puddle on the floor, followed by her underclothes and Axel's suit quickly followed.

"Roxas, you're beautiful." Despite his suspicions Axel was still amazed by how much like a boy she looked. Her chest was firm and flat, not feminine in the least and when he caught one of her nipples in his mouth she moaned softly, sliding a hand through his red spikes.

"You're handsome." Axel looked wonderful naked, his hair and muscles lit by the gentle candlelight. He smiled and slid a hand between her thighs, finding her pleasure points effortlessly. "Ah!" Roxas moved her hips against his hand as he stimulated her and Axel laughed, giving her a deep kiss. But something wasn't right. Axel frowned faintly as he slid his fingers from her clit to her vagina and found… he wasn't sure what. Ridges under his fingers and no hint of moisture at all. But Roxas was excited, he was sure of it. Axel hesitated before kissing her again.

"A moment." He said and she blinked at him, biting her lip as he reached into his dresser and pulled out a bottle of lube. "You seem a bit, er, dry." He said carefully as she winced. "And I don't want to hurt you." That was the last thing he wanted for his beautiful little bride.

"Thank you." Roxas whispered. She still wasn't sure about this but the lube should help. But she couldn't help but wince when Axel touched her in that spot. There was an unpleasant tingling sensation and she wasn't sure it could get better. Axel looked into her face as he slowly eased himself inside and Roxas moaned, biting her lip tightly at the pain of it. Axel waited for that pain to fade before moving but…

"Damn." After a few thrusts Axel pulled away and Roxas blinked, eyes watering a little.

"Wh-why did you stop?" She asked him and he shook his head, a bit frustrated.

"That wasn't good for you." She opened her mouth and he put a finger against her lips. "Don't deny it. I've slept with a woman before and I was expecting some pain but not that much. There's something wrong there, isn't there?" She didn't quite feel right there either. He could feel more ridging inside her. Roxas winced, looking away.

"Axel, I – I had an infection there as a child. It never healed right. I'm sorry." Roxas had never felt this bad in her life. She wanted to do this, she desired Axel but she just wasn't _right_. How could they do this? Axel made a small 'hmm' sound and Roxas blinked at him catching a speculative look on his face.

"This infection. Did it affect you _here_?" Roxas blinked as Axel's hand slipped behind her, touching a different spot. Was he suggesting? But if she'd been the boy she should have been then… maybe this would work.

"Uh, no." She swallowed nervously before speaking firmly. "That might be a good idea." Axel grinned at her tone and kissed her again.

"Then let's try it." Axel's fingers felt strange there, opening her and stretching her but it did feel much better than his touch at her vagina. The lube made everything easy and Roxas sighed as the sting eased. It even felt… good. Axel kissed her throat then caught her earlobe before gently licking the shell of her ear. Roxas shivered in desire as he positioned himself again. "Tell me if this hurts." Roxas gasped and gripped him tightly as he made his way into her and Axel paused, looking into her face.

"Keep going!" She managed to say, feeling a tension inside like nothing she'd ever felt before. It hurt but Axel felt _good_ there, filling her up and stretching her. He began to thrust into her in a slow, controlled rhythm that made her moan and kiss him fervently. "F-Faster!" She rolled her hips into him and Axel laughed before obligingly increasing the speed of his rhythm.

"Ah Roxas, you feel wonderful." Axel breathed into her ear. She was so tight there, so good and… so familiar. Except for the absence of a penis he could have been making love to a boy and that inflamed him along with the simple fact that this was _Roxas._ He hadn't expected to feel this way about the bride he'd never met but he was so glad he did.

Roxas suddenly cried out as Axel seemed to find something in her, something that made stars burst behind her eyes and her whole body tremble. What was that? She'd never felt anything like it before. Axel seemed to realize what had happened and angled himself to find that spot, hitting it again and again. A warm tension was building inside her but she wasn't sure where it was going. She didn't have… how could she…

"Roxas." Axel said heavily as she moaned and clenched around him. "I… love you…" Her world seemed to explode behind her eyes as he said those words and she cried out, a thin cry of ecstasy as she found a wonderful, powerful release.

"Axel!" He followed a moment later and she could feel him spilling his seed inside her. It didn't feel bad though. Rather the reverse and Roxas relaxed, nuzzling her new lover as Axel tried to catch his breath. "Oh, that was wonderful." She said sleepily and Axel laughed, kissing her cheek lovingly.

"I'm glad you liked it." He smiled and whispered in her ear. "I loved it too." Roxas blushed lightly and laughed, cuddling up to him as he slid away from her, lying down beside her. "And I love you."

"I love you too." Roxas felt that with all her heart and was glad. She'd never hoped to find love in a far off land with a man she'd never met. Perhaps, just this once, the Gods were looking out for her.

Axel watched Roxas fall asleep, her face innocent and beautiful before blowing out the candles and settling to sleep as well. Although he did wonder before he dropped off. What kind of infection could cause scarring in a woman there? Why would such an infection happen in the first place?

Shelving the questions for later, Axel went to sleep. He was happy just to be with Roxas.


	5. The Mystery that is Roxas

Author's Note: I know Roxas gender issues have been confusing. XD I've been trying for a bit of mystery… anyway, it will finally be resolved this chapter! Everything is factual if odd. Enjoy!

"I feel really bad for the King."

"Eh? Why?" It was several days after the feast and Roxas and Xion were soaking away the bruises after a really strenuous workout. "When do you think I'll be ready to spar with Axel?" Roxas had been watching her fiancée work out with some of the guards and Axel was _good._ She wanted to be that good.

"Not for a while. And Kohla's father is pressuring the King to make Axel take her as a second wife." Xion laughed at the look on Roxas face. "Don't worry! It'll never happen. If nothing else Dolang has threatened to leave and take all of his best apprentices with him to open a restaurant if the King dares take her." Roxas couldn't help but grin at that. Dolang was the master chef of the kitchens and a minor noble. That kind of exodus would be a complete catastrophe for the castle. "But her father is making the King's life miserable right now and he's a high noble here for the wedding. The King can't tell him to get out without starting a feud. Poor man. Oh well, sometimes we just have to endure." Xion stretched then settled into the water up to her neck with a sigh.

"Um, Xion?" Roxas chewed on her lip for a moment. "I've been wondering. What does it mean if I'm seeing… colors?" She didn't know how else to put it. A lot of objects seemed to have colorful auras around them and she could sometimes see lines of color in the air. It would have worried her a lot more but she'd caught Axel, Zexion and the King all looking at the colors too. She was sure they could see what she was seeing. Xion's eyes popped open and she sat up.

"You're seeing magic? That's wonderful!" Roxas blinked as Xion hugged her. "That means you have a strong magical gift. Axel and Zexion will be pleased."

"But no one in my family has ever been a wizard." Roxas protested. Magical gifts ran in families. Xion grinned.

"Doesn't matter. If you have a latent gift the water around here will bring it out and you've been drinking it, hmm, almost three weeks now. That's about right." Xion settled back down in the water. "You'll have to get some training from Zexion. He'll like that, especially if you're good with it. Axel has the gift but not the focus except for fire magic. He's very good with that." That was a charming thought for Roxas. Right now Axel was better at her at almost everything except Hounds and Hares. If she could master magic she would really be able to help him on the battlefield and at his work as a King. Zexion would probably appreciate the help. "Hmm, we might have to cut back a bit on your practice to make time for it." Xion didn't want to cut down on Roxas' time with Axel. They were getting along splendidly and the whole castle wanted to encourage it.

"Probably." Roxas sighed and started to pull herself up. "We better get going Xion. Axel's taking us out for ice cream, remember?" She was looking forward to that. They had ice cream in Reyerton of course but she'd never heard of a sea salt flavor.

"Mmm, ice cream!" Xion bounced out of the bath and almost skidded on the tiles. Roxas caught her before she could bang her head. "Yeek! Must be more careful." Roxas laughed at the other girl and soon they were getting dress. Roxas smiled as she pulled on her leather trousers. She'd had a pair specially tailored and they were decorated with some crackled amber and fringe. Along with her brown linen shirt and the necklace Axel had given her, she looked very nice and it was easy to ride.

"Oh damn." Xion muttered as they met Axel at the stables and Roxas immediately saw why. The redhead was waiting patiently but his eyes were narrowed with annoyance and the stablehands were quite flustered. Kohla and her little court of girls were giggling, wasting time and generally being nuisances as the stablehands tried to get their horses ready for them. "Should we walk? Would it be faster?" Roxas laughed softly but she knew that wasn't really an option. The city was far too spread out and most of what was around the castle was homes of the upper classes. It would take hours of walking to get where they were going. Roxas lost her smile, though, as she saw Kohla put her hand on Axel's arm. The redhead gave her a very thin smile, the bare minimum for politeness but Kohla didn't seem to care.

"Axel darling. Would you like to come with us? We're going to have a pleasant little ride through the woods." Glancing over the soldiers that would be going with them Roxas doubted that. But then, no one took pleasure rides into the woods without an escort. The woods weren't horribly dangerous but they were dangerous enough. That was why she hadn't bothered, traveling with a group of soldiers on a pleasure ride wasn't her idea of fun.

"Thank you, but no. I have other plans." Axel pulled his arm away as Kohla pouted. "As soon as you're done milady." Kohla scowled but the stablehands were finally finishing. She mounted her horse, a very pretty palomino mare with ill grace and Roxas winced at her heavy hand with the reins. Annoyingly, the other girl was wearing very similar trousers to her own but set with turquoise instead of amber. Axel watched her go then turned to look at them with a smile.

"I see you two in the shadows over there." There was laughter in his voice and Roxas blushed faintly as Xion laughed.

"Good thing she's not that smart eh?" Xion bounced out and spoke to the stablehand who looked relieved. "Hinterhoof please! And Darky and Bucky." Axel grinned as the stablehands started getting all the horses saddled and ready. His horse, a young buckskin gelding stood calmly beside Darky. The black stallion had wonderful manners. Hinterhoof was the one who tried to bite a stablehand and got a good smack for it. "Hoof! Mind your manners you piece of dogfood." Xion swung up easily and got her mare moving easily as Roxas and Axel followed. "It's right over the river right?"

"Right." People paused to wave to them as they trotted easily through the streets. Roxas smiled and waved back as Axel grinned.

"They like you." He murmured softly and Roxas blushed, shaking her head.

"I think they like you." She replied and Axel shook his head with a smile. He didn't really think so. The Royal family was respected and people were fond of them, but Roxas was the glamorous newcomer. And word had already spread through the city that she was as nice and considerate as she was pretty. Soon they were traveling over the great bridge and the ice cream shop was right there. There was a hitching post for the horses as well as a trough full of clean water. They tied up the horses and went inside and Roxas looked over the menu curiously. "Oh! There's so many flavors." There was perhaps two dozen different flavors of ice cream on the board. "Could we try more than one?" She'd like to try the sea salt because Axel said it was good, but she hated to miss all the other flavors.

"Sure! Why don't we get their three scoop bowls and get each scoop a different flavor?" Xion suggested and Axel nodded.

"Wonderful idea. I'll take, hmm… strawberry, vanilla and sea salt." Axel decided to be completely unadventurous with his selection and Xion grinned.

"Boring! I'll take a walnut maple scoop, raspberry and sea salt." Roxas frowned as she looked at the flavors.

"Uh. Chocolate, pumpkin and sea salt for me." She wasn't sure those would really go together but she could just eat them separately. She'd never had pumpkin ice cream before either and it sounded interesting. They each got their ice cream and Axel paid before they went outside to sit and eat in the sun and watch the people going by. There was quite a bit of traffic at the ice cream store but then, ice cream was always popular on a sunny summer day.

"So when do you think the river will be going down enough for the wedding?" Xion asked after she took a mouthful of her raspberry ice cream. Axel looked at the river skeptically.

"Probably another week. I wish it would be sooner but I'm not counting on it." The river was still swollen. "The path needs to be almost dry for the trip. Otherwise the footing is treacherous and the last thing we need is horses breaking legs."

"I'd almost be willing to risk it to get rid of the Kohla bitch." Xion muttered then spoke more cheerfully. "Oh hey! Guess what? Roxas is seeing magic." Axel looked surprised then pleased.

"Really? You can see this?" Axel flicked his fingers and Roxas blinked as she saw a line of red between them.

"Yes, it's red." She tried to poke it. "Ow!" She popped her finger in her mouth and sucked on it. It felt like she'd touched a bit of hot metal. Axel laughed and snapped away the red light.

"Sorry. Just a bit of fire magic. That's wonderful, Zexion will be able to teach you all about it." Axel was very happy with the news. Having a good strong talent for magic was always helpful to a King or Queen, and as his First Wife Roxas would be Queen. "Hey, want to learn how to light a fire?"

"Sure!" They practiced as they ate with a few leaves and soon Roxas could easily set them on fire then stomp them out under her boot. "This is fun." It seemed completely effortless and Axel smiled.

"Just don't start setting the palace on fire. I almost did as a kid and I couldn't sit for a week when dad was done with me." The memory was still a little painful but in retrospect Axel could see that he'd definitely deserved it. Roxas smiled and shook her head.

"I'm not a boy. I won't do anything that daft." Axel winced as Xion grinned.

"Go girl!" Soon they were finished the ice cream and heading back to the palace. "So what next oh Prince? Hounds and Hares again?"

"No. Actually, I was thinking I could show Roxas the dungeons." Roxas looked over, a bit surprised. Axel smiled at her. "I don't want to spoil the surprise but there's something interesting down there, something you wouldn't have in Reyerton."

"We do have dungeons in Reyerton." Roxas protested mildly. "Torture chambers too." Although those hadn't been used in sometime. Reyerton had been at peace for generations. Axel grinned.

"Every castle has those. No, something far more special than that." Xion was grinning too and Roxas silently resolved not to be too impressed.

As it turned out, that resolution was impossible to keep. Axel took her deep into the bowels of Castle Fangwulf and the magical lights here were a dim blue. Axel carried one like a torch, illuminating the way until the finally entered a huge cavern. Roxas stared at the great crystals on the ceiling that were putting out the same soft, blue light and the thing that was illuminated there.

"!?!" She stumbled back as Axel turned towards her with a smile. Xion gently caught her shoulders, steadying her.

"So, do you have a dragon under the castle in Reyerton?" Axel asked teasingly and Roxas swallowed as a scaled head lifted, disturbing a few mounds of coins. For a moment she remembered the dragon cake and suddenly realized what the inspiration for it had been. It had looked just like the real dragon…

"Dr-dr-dragon?!?" Roxas stammered then flinched as she heard a voice rumbling through the air.

_Indeed. And who is this? A snack for me? Why Axel, you shouldn't have._ Roxas yelped but Xion gripped her shoulders as Axel sighed.

"He's just teasing. He hasn't got any teeth left anyway. Roxas, this is Munstro. Munstro, meet my fiancée, Princess Roxas of Reyerdon." Roxas hesitantly looked at the dragon and blinked as she realized Axel was right. He didn't have any teeth to speak of. That was strange.

_Hello there. Has Axel here told you anything about me or has the cretin been trying to surprise you. _Axel started to protest but almost fell over as the dragon exhaled onto him. _Hush._

"Uh, he was trying to surprise me." Roxas stepped forward slowly, fascinated now. She knew a bit about dragons, they weren't unknown in Reyerdon but she'd never seen one before. Munstro chuckled softly.

_Well then. Have you heard that dragons are immortal? _Roxas nodded cautiously. _All lies. We just live for a very long time compared to you humans. I'm perhaps ten thousand years old and that makes me very old indeed. In your terms, I would be a hundred. _The dragon chuckled again. _And I'm as feeble and decrepit as that implies. In the normal course of things a younger dragon would have long since killed me and taken my horde. But I made a deal with Axel's ancestors and I have a very comfortable retirement underneath this castle. They bring me food, venison and beef soup and keep me safe. In return, I give them the benefit of my wisdom._ _And when I finally die this horde will be theirs. _The dragon couldn't actually do it but Roxas could almost feel his shrug. _As good a place for it to go as any. In my old age, I've finally realized I can't take it with me._ Roxas blinked then smiled at the wry tone in the old dragon's voice. Dragons were notorious for their possessiveness but he was right, he couldn't take the gold and gems with him.

"But how do you leave this cavern?" The dragon flipped his tail and more lights came on, illuminating the end of the cavern. "Oh." There were great wooden doors there, with huge hoops that no human could hope to move. But they would be perfect for Munstro to use to close the doors to his room. "That would be the back of the castle?" That explained the weird appearance of the back of the castle. She'd often wondered about that wood, it had seemed like a weakness in the defenses. Clearly not. Even an elderly dragon wasn't the kind of thing an attacking army would like to run into. Toothless or not Roxas was willing to be this fire breath worked just fine.

_Yes. A rather ingenious design. This is a very comfortable lair for me. I rarely fly anymore though. My wings hurt._ The dragon sighed sadly. _Everything hurts these days. Don't get old child, it's far too much effort._

"The alternative is just as bad though." Roxas pointed out and the dragon rumbled agreement.

_Well, it's been very nice to meet you. Welcome to the castle._ Munstro stretched out lazily on his pile of coins. _Axel, stay a moment. _Roxas and Xion took the hint, leaving Axel alone with the dragon. _So. You want my impressions of her?_

"Yes please." Axel wasn't surprised that the dragon understood his purpose in bringing Roxas here. Munstro had much better senses than any human. A long, forked tongue flicked through the air before the dragon spoke again.

_She smells like a castrati. _Axel's eyes widened at that. He's suspected _something_ but not that!

"What?!? They don't do that in Reyerdon! I don't think." He added with a frown. "And why would someone make a Prince into a eunuch?"

_After watching you perverse creatures for hundreds of years I can think of plenty of scenarios. But I didn't say she is a eunuch, just that she smells like one._ Munstro paused thoughtfully before speaking again. _Once, when I was very young I met another dragon. I was very confused by his scent and could not decide if he was a female or male, if I should attempt to court or challenge. We circled each other and finally I just asked him. He said something had gone wrong in the egg and he was both. So I challenged him and drove him away. If such a thing can happen to a dragon I am sure it can happen to humans._

"Ah. That would make sense." Axel's eyes narrowed as he thought. "That would explain why father said other kingdoms think of her barrenness as a curse of the Gods." Being born deformed in such a way would certainly be considered a curse in a land without the wild magic. In Ashara, it would just be treated as a birth defect like any other. A practical problem to be corrected as best it could. "I'll have to ask her." He needed to understand. On thinking about it, he'd realized Roxas had been reacting during sex like a boy. She had a prostate, he was sure of it. It was all very strange.

_It is always good to ask._ Munstro agreed. _Good luck with that. She seems very nice. _Roxas had been surprised to see him but had recovered quickly. She seemed to have spine and intelligence. Axel left and the lights slowly winkled out as the dragon fell back to sleep.

He was old and needed his sleep.

* * *

"Roxas, god!" Axel moaned in pleasure as warm, velvety wetness slid over his member. It hadn't been his idea, Roxas had started this and he was just going with the flow. He spread his legs a bit as she ran her fingers over his thighs, taking him deep in her throat and swallowing. Axel gasped as he felt his release getting close. "Roxas, I'm going to – to…" Axel panted but Roxas wasn't listening. She lightly trailed her fingers over his sack before swallowing again and Axel couldn't help but let go. Roxas tried to swallow it but sputtered and coughed, drawing back and blinking as a bit of it slipped out of the corner of her mouth and landed on his thigh. "Ah, sorry." He felt bad that he hadn't been able to give her more warning but Roxas just smiled.

"That's okay." She tucked herself in beside him and Axel kissed her thoroughly before sitting up and moving down, hands sliding over her stomach and then sliding behind her. "Axel? You don't have to." Roxas moaned softly as he kissed her thighs, spreading them and then finding her sweet spot with a strong, agile tongue. She gasped as his fingers slid inside her, looking for that thing inside her that felt so good. She still had no idea what that was but she wanted more.

"Yes, I do." Axel lifted his head for a moment to speak to her and she whimpered at the loss of his mouth. Then he went back to what he was doing and Roxas arched with a gasp as he found that spot inside her again, gently stimulating her there as he pleasured her in front. He never tried to touch her vagina, but that was probably just as well. Even the lightest touch there didn't feel right. She gripped his hair, fingers sliding through bright red spikes as she felt that beautiful feeling again, the heat and tightening pleasure in her belly.

"Axel." She panted his name, breathing coming raggedly as she neared her release. "Yes!" Roxas cried out as she felt that wonderful feeling again. She still wasn't entirely certain what her body was doing but she didn't care, lost in the ecstasy of orgasm. Axel pulled away when she was done, grinning.

"That was fun." He slid back up and tucked his exhausted mate in his arms. Roxas smiled up at him and Axel remembered what he'd intended to ask her. It might make her unhappy but they were both very loose and content right now. Although he had another question first. "Where did you learn how to…?" He was pretty sure she'd been a virgin last week and he hadn't taught her about oral sex. Roxas giggled tiredly.

"Xion. She's amazing, she gave me a book with illustrations and then explained it all." Roxas said sleepily and Axel choked at the mental image.

"Right. Uh… well, Roxas." Axel hesitated a moment and kissed her on the cheek before continuing. "Are you really a boy?" He felt her stiffen in his arms and spoke softly. "Munstro said you smelled like a eunuch to him. Please, I'm going to be your husband in a week. I don't mind if you are, but I really need to know." He didn't want someone to find out and use it against them when he didn't even know the truth. Roxas shivered and looked away for a moment.

"Please, don't be disgusted?" She finally said and Axel ran a hand through her hair soothingly.

"I could never be disgusted by you." He said and Roxas sniffed at the sincerity she heard in his voice. She turned back and laid her face against his chest for a moment before speaking.

"I was born deformed. I had a – a penis that was so small they thought I was a girl at first. The doctors and the wizards said I could never live as a man, it would be non-functional anyway so they should try to make me into a proper girl. It didn't work." Roxas shivered as she remembered. "They used magics to sculpt my penis into a girl part instead and then they removed my – other parts and tried to make a vagina for me. It got infected and I was so sick they thought I would die. I was only a baby when they did that but the midwife talked. Pretty soon everyone knew I was really a boy but my parents insisted on raising me as a girl anyway. I – I don't want people to know here. I know you might not feel the same way but I've been treated like a freak all my life…" Tears prickled her eyes as Roxas remembered all the years of near excommunication she'd suffered. It hadn't been blatant but none of the other noble girls had wanted anything to do with the freak child and in Reyerdon a King's daughter couldn't play with commoners. Her only real friends had been Sora and Kairi. Roxas blinked as she felt Axel's hands around her face, lifting her chin so he could look into her sad blue eyes.

"That's horrible." Axel could see where the Reyerdon wizards and doctors had been coming from. It was a bit like the way they handled wild magic defects, working with the changes to create something aesthetically pleasing. But sex was more complicated and what had they done to Roxas' internal organs? She had a prostate and her 'vagina' was clearly non-functional. And the way she had been treated sounded abominable. "Roxas, people won't feel that way here. Yes, it's strange but I think every family has a cousin or ancestor with some kind of wild magic change. If it gets out, this will just be another." Axel hesitated for a moment before asking. "Do you mind being my wife? Being a girl?" Ashara didn't practice same sex marriages although lovers were common enough. But to be his wife, Roxas would need to wear dresses and jewelry. Roxas smiled and shook her head.

"I hated it in Reyerdon but that's because Princesses can't do anything there. I love it here… I can wear dresses, have girl talk and still fight and learn magic. It's everything I always liked about being a girl with none of the things I hated. And I have you." Roxas blushed as Axel smiled. "I'd gladly be a girl for you." She reached up and pulled Axel down into a passionate kiss.

"I'm glad." He said simply then grinned. "Let's be careful though. We don't want this to get out what Kohla is here, I hate to think what that bitch would try to do with it." When she was safely gone it wouldn't matter as much. Everyone knew there was something odd about Roxas but they liked her anyway. Roxas winced at the thought and nodded, snuggling against Axel again.

"I love you Axel." She felt so blessed that she'd found a mate who could accept her for what she was. Even in Ashara Roxas thought that had to be rare.

"I love you too, Roxas." Axel murmured in her ear and Roxas smiled to herself, letting the sound of his heartbeat lull her to sleep.

She only hoped Sora was as happy back in Reyerdon.


	6. The Chapter Where Nothing Much Happens

_Hello Roxas!_

_You know, you're a ninny. Why didn't you ask the court wizard if he could send a message down? It's super expensive… ten gold pennies…! But we're twins and they can use that to bounce a message back and forth. Excuse me while I laugh at you._

_OK done. So! I'm glad to hear you like Ashara. Things are supper hot down here this year and there's not much rain. I hope we get more soon or the crops might start dying and that would really stink. Mom's fruit trees are already wilting but that's not too important._

_I'm glad to hear that Axel's nice but he better not be taking advantage of you before you're married! If he is I'll come down there and challenge him for you. I can almost hear you laughing at me but I will, I swear! Even if I have to stow away on a pirate ship to do it, heh!_

_Mother's pregnant again and we're hopeful she'll stay that way. But you never know, she could miscarry tomorrow. I really hope she manages to have the baby though, I'd love a little brother or sister and maybe with another heir I could go see you. I know there's no way you'll be able to come see me. Oh Roxas, I miss you so much. It's just not the same here without you. Hmm, I can't think of too much to say. Please write back and see if your wizard can bounce the message through the wizard relays. Thanks!_

_Loves and kisses,_

_Sora_

* * *

"Wizard relays?" Roxas said in bewilderment as she looked at Zexion. The King's court wizard smiled at her.

"Yes. We don't use them very much up here because messages to the South have to pass through Aarin hands and their easily decodable, but sometimes we have to for diplomatic correspondence. That's how we did our negotiations with your father." Zexion's tone turned wry. "And I think he had to give the Aarin some bribes then put a magic signature on the messages to keep them from editing." The signature had ensured that if any changes had been made, Zexion would have known.

"Well, that's wonderful! Even if it does cost ten gold pennies." She would be able to afford that only perhaps once a month. Anything more would just be too extravagant. It was still a lot but she was sure the King and Axel would understand. "So you were going to teach me some magic?" Zexion smiled again at her kittenish enthusiasm.

"Yes. Now…" He frowned for a moment then shook his head as he walked over to a nearby aquarium. It was filled with water but there were no fish. "This is not a spell I would normally teach to a beginner but when I was scrying something else I received a firm suggestion that we should start with this. It's unwise to ignore those kind of suggestions so I'm going to teach you how to breathe water."

"Really?" That sounded amazing and Zexion nodded.

"It's going to be unpleasant." He warned her. "You'll have to test your enchants by trying to breath underwater." Roxas looked a bit daunted by that. If she got it wrong she would be sputtering quite a lot. "And then you'll have to learn the trick of ridding your lungs of the water when you want to end the enchantment." That was unpleasant too. Roxas nodded.

"I'm ready." Even if it wasn't very comfortable she desperately wanted to learn.

A half hour or so later Axel poked his head into the workroom.

"Hey Zexion, how's it go- agh! Are you trying to drown her?" Axel was momentarily horrified by the sight of his fiancée half inside a fish tank. But she grinned at him and waved from beneath the water.

"She's mastered the art of underwater breathing, unlike you." Zexion said dryly as Roxas pulled herself out and coughed heavily, water streaming out of her nose and mouth. "Make yourself useful by fetching her a change of clothes." The ones Roxas was wearing right now were soaked. Axel blinked then shook his head with a grin.

"I see you're getting on well. I'll go do that." A few minutes later and he was back with one of her summer dresses. Roxas accepted it gratefully. She wasn't planning on riding tonight so it would be perfect. "There was some other – ah! Zexion, your favorite minstrel is back in town." Zexion's face darkened.

"Tell him to go sit on a pole and rotate." The wizard snapped. "I have not forgiven him nor do I intend to!" Zexion muttered to himself as he got everything ready for the next lesson.

"I admit, he went too far with that prank. But are you sure you don't want to let him apologize?" Axel thought it was a shame that Zexion was so firmly rejecting his old flame. Demyx wasn't a bad sort, he just had all the self control of a young woman on her first drunk.

"No. I am finished with him." Zexion's tone was final and Axel shrugged.

"Well, if you're sure. But it's about time for lunch. Xion's already fixed up a basket and we were thinking of heading over to the park." Roxas smiled at that idea. There was a park within walking distance of the palace, and while it was small there were plenty of benches and places to sit. It would be a great place for a picnic lunch.

"I'm ready." Roxas smoothed down her sundress and Axel offered her his arm with a grin. Arm in arm, they went to find Xion and were surprised to see her muttering and cleaning up the remains of a shattered basket. A brown haired girl with sad eyes was helping her. "Xion! What happened? Oh… Jenni. I didn't know you had arrived." Axel felt more than a little awkward at this unexpected meeting. Jenni Alexandra was the one his father was already arranging to be his second wife. She smiled at him weakly as Xion replied.

"One of Kohla's bitches knocked it out of my hands when I was talking to Jenni and another stepped on it." Xion was quietly furious as she tried to get everything into the basket so she could take it to the trash. Axel winced and knelt down to help. Soon they had the basket together and took it outside, tossing it into the compost heap. "Should we get another one? Or do you want to go somewhere for lunch?" Axel thought about that and shook his head.

"Let's get another basket." The good restaurants were across the river and he didn't feel like riding. Roxas wasn't dressed for it either. "Jenni, do you want to come?" The morose girl smiled, her expression lightening a little. Roxas looked at her curiously. She was very plain with a large nose and dark green eyes, but seemed nice enough if rather sad.

"Sure." Soon they had a new basket although it was nowhere near as good as the last one. That one had had roast chicken and some nice biscuits, but the kitchen couldn't make those again in a hurry so they settled for simple sandwiches and a bottle of wine. "I hear the water is starting to go down. Will the wedding be soon?" Jenni asked as they walked to the park and Axel nodded.

"I think it will be this week." He smiled at Roxas who smiled back, pleased. Her wedding gown was all ready and she had also gotten a special set of riding clothes made. The chaps in particular had turned out very well, brown leather with beading in amber and garnet with elaborate fringe. Her gown was done in the same colors. In Ashara, the tradition was for the bride to wear the colors of the family she was joining rather than virginal white. Roxas rather liked it. She would be able to wear her gown again at court feasts without a problem.

"I can't wait." She said sincerely and laughed as Axel gently kissed her cheek. Xion grinned and even Jenni smiled a bit. When the reached the park they easily settled in on one of the picnic tables, pulling out the contents of the basket. Xion laughed as she found that the cooks had evidently felt sorry for them and included some boxed up sweet tarts that had probably been made ahead of time for dinner.

"That was so sweet of them!" A sous-chef could get into trouble if there weren't enough tarts at dinner so it was a rather touching gesture. "Four little ones, perfect." They were almond past and jam tarts. Roxas smiled and tucked into her food with good appetite as Jenni picked at her bread and tossed some of it to the pigeons.

"You're not hungry Jenni?" Axel frowned as he noticed she was looking thin, much thinner than he remembered. It didn't really look good on her. She shook her head.

"I'm fine." Axel frowned, about to ask what the problem was when Xion touched his arm. He glanced at her and she shook her head.

"Alright." He made a mental note to ask Xion about it later. Jenni was a good enough girl and perhaps whatever was bothering her was completely unrelated, like stomach acid, but if she didn't want to be his second wife he wanted to know. He knew Jenni's father wouldn't care about her feelings and the King would have no way of knowing. "The pigeons are cute hey? They'd make some excellent pies." Roxas giggled as Xion grinned.

"Break out the bow and arrows eh? I hear the cooks are actually going to be making squab for the wedding feast." That wouldn't be held at the spring. It would be a grueling day of riding but they were planning to start out bright and early, have the wedding at the spring and head back. The cooks would stay at the castle and everything would be ready for them when they arrived late in the day. "With foie gras. It should be wonderful." Duck and foie gras were both very popular in the North although the second was expensive. But it was perfect for a wedding feast.

"Mmmm." Xion said appreciatively then pulled out a deck of cards. "Want to play a few rounds of Hearts?" Jenni looked over at that, interest sparking in her eyes.

"I would love to." Roxas said with a smile and Axel shrugged. He wasn't a huge fan of cards but he was up for it. Xion grinned and reached into the basket, pulling out a pad of paper and a pencil. She'd managed to save it from the first basket although the top layers of the pad had been ruined. She quickly drew the scoreboard as Jenni dealt the cards.

"Hey Axel, you're supposed to be trying to get a LOW score, not a high one." Xion said after a few hands. Axel shrugged with a grin.

"It's all Roxas fault. She keeps passing me the Queen and then Jenni makes me eat it." Jenni laughed softly. That was exactly what had happened the past two rounds. "We can always play again if it ends too soon." They were playing to a hundred and Axel was already at sixty.

"Heh, true." As it happened, though, they decided to change the game to Bug Up after they finished the Hearts. Roxas didn't know the rules to that one and they had to teach her but it was simple enough. They chatted, drank wine and nibbled on tarts as they played. All in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon.

"So, what did you think of Jenni?" Axel asked Roxas casually after they'd gone back to the palace and the other girl had departed to go speak to her father. Roxas smiled at the question.

"She's quiet but very nice." Once Jenni had drunk a few glasses of wine she'd even started to show an understated sense of humor. "Is she going to be staying?" Why else would Axel care what she thought about the other girl? Axel hesitated a moment.

"Not right now, but… she's the one my father wants me to marry as my second wife." Axel said carefully and Roxas winced. But she had known that was coming. Axel needed to produce a heir, preferably more than one and that was something she just couldn't do. "She's a pretty good choice in a lot of ways. The wizards have checked and she's definitely fertile, and she won't try to force you aside." That was the danger with taking a second wife. A power struggle could easily result and that would be bad for everyone. But Jenni would do whatever Roxas wanted and if there was a third wife she would be faced with a united front. Roxas sighed.

"I don't really want to share you." She admitted and hugged Axel. "But if I have to, she's fine." Roxas did like the other girl and thought she could be a friend. A completely different sort of friend than Xion, but that was good.

"Good." Axel gently kissed her on the top of her head for a moment before lifting his head and looking at Xion. "So what's Jenni's problem? It doesn't look like she's been eating well." Jenni normally tended towards chunky and right now she didn't look too healthy. Xion sighed.

"Oh, she's just being silly." Axel lifted his eyebrows and Xion grimaced. "She fell in love with her tutor but he's married and uninterested. She's pining away after him but she'll get over it."

"Oh." Axel winced but there was nothing he could do about that. Jenni could have a lover married to him but if the man she wanted wasn't interested, well, there was just nothing he could do. "I see. Well, I hope she starts eating a bit before she gets sick." Xion pursed her lips for a moment.

"I'll speak to her maid and see what we could do." That was who Xion had gotten the story from and maybe they could convince Jenni to stop abusing herself. Roxas looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Maybe we should take her out tomorrow too, if she wants to come?" They were planning to go see a play tomorrow so it wouldn't be hard to include one more person. Axel hesitated. He wanted time alone with Roxas, but Xion would be there anyway and Jenni was likely going to be part of their lives. It was only sensible to include her a bit and a play was a good thing to start with.

"Why not?" He agreed and Xion smiled.

"I'll go ask her. You two love birds go have some time alone before supper." Roxas blushed as Axel laughed and took her hand. Xion started off in a sprightly manner, feeling absolutely wonderful.

Axel and Roxas were in love, they both liked Jenni and the wedding would be soon. What could go wrong?


	7. Trolls, Nereids and Glimmergaus, oh my!

"Riku! You're back just in time." Axel was pleased to see his best friend and even more pleased to see that while the silver haired man looked tired he didn't seem grim or upset. "It wasn't too bad?"

"Not bad at all." Riku started undoing his armor, pulling it off and letting a page take it for cleaning. "You'll probably hear from the King and Seph but it was the more benign sort of disease. We managed to save all the villagers except the mayor. We had to kill him to make the others submit." Axel winced but nodded. Whoever considered himself the most dominant man in the village would usually take the place of alpha werewolf and fight to the death to keep his spot. If anyone had to die, he would be the one. "They're all better now and very grateful." With the disease purged and only one casualty the villagers were going to be fine. It was the ideal outcome. "So how's everything going with your blushing bride?" Axel laughed as Riku pulled up a seat and a page handed him a glass of wine. "Thank you."

"Very well. The trail is clear and we're going to be starting up tomorrow." Riku groaned at the thought of more riding and Axel grinned. "Ah, suck it up. You'll get a good night's sleep in a feather bed tonight at least." Riku nodded with a sigh. That would at least help. "The only real fly in the ointment is the bitch Kohla. Her father is pressing my father hard to make her my second wife." Axel's tone was grim and Riku lifted his eyebrows.

"He won't fold, will he?" The symbol of Axel's house was a rune that stood for bravery against all odds, and largely it was true. But Cristopher wasn't the Skull Queen. He was brave enough in battle but a far more amiable sort of man who had a hard time with outright refusals. Axel shook his head.

"No. Half the palace would be up in arms if he did and I'd have to start checking Roxas food for poison. Kohla will never settle for being second wife." Axel shrugged. "So we need to get started up that trail as quickly as we can. No waiting for you and Seph to get your wind back." Riku grimaced but nodded and finished his wine in one long swallow.

"In that case, I'm going to go soak my aches, get something to eat and go to bed. It'll be a long ride tomorrow." But he wouldn't miss it for the world. Axel had signed the registration for his own wedding and he intended to do the same for the redhead.

"It sounds like a plan. We're all going to bed early tonight." Axel smiled as he watched Riku walk away.

He was glad his best friend had managed to arrive in time for the wedding.

* * *

"It's a beautiful dress." Xion admired the drape of the fabric and Roxas nodded, beaming. The gown was dark brown but the fabric was very light, billowing out from her arms and caught at her waist with a belt of amber and garnet beads, tied into a knot in front of her with strands dangling down. The skirt was slit to reveal her legs a bit, which Roxas very much approved of. She had no chest worth displaying but her legs were lovely. The dress complimented her willowy figure perfectly and the crest of Axel's family, a little symbol that she had been told stood for bravery, had been sewn in gold thread onto the hem of the dress and the ends of her sleeves. "Here, put on the tiara." Roxas smiled as she took the tiara and slid it into place in her golden spikes. It was a beautiful little confection of garnets and amber stones held in gold settings on gold wires to create a little forest effect. Roxas thought that she had never owned anything as beautiful in her life. "Oh, and this!" Roxas laughed as Xion slipped her necklace over her neck, Axel's token nestling easy in the folds of her dress. "You look so lovely."

"Thank you Xion." Roxas gazed at herself in the mirror for a moment before smiling and carefully pulling everything off. "But we should get ready." They had woken up bright and early to prepare and they would have to leave soon. Xion nodded and carefully folded everything before tucking it into the saddlebags as Roxas pulled on her brand new clothes. They were just as rich as the dress but far more practical and Roxas smiled as she ran her fingers over the beading and big silver buttons of her new chaps. Her only regret was that Sora couldn't be here to see her get married. She still missed him sometimes but fortunately she had many friends to take her mind off any homesickness.

Xion's clothing was entirely different and Roxas was reminded that the raven haired girl wasn't just her friend but also her bodyguard. Xion was wearing a mail shirt with a tabard in the King's colors with the Royal symbol picked out on the front. She was also wearing a tightly fitting helmet and cheek guards. Roxas was just glad she could see Xion's face. Xion sighed as she stretched a moment.

"I'm going to be so damn hot. Oh well." She buckled on her sword and shouldered the saddlebags as Roxas did the same with her set of bags. "Let's go." Roxas was wearing a sword too now. Axel had given it to her and it was very old, a relic of his family. The Skull Queen had used it but it was much older than that and Roxas could see white and black magic drifting along the blade. The hilt was plain but capped with a single cabochon ruby.

Roxas wanted to ride Darky but the stablehands vetoed the idea. The trail they would be going up was steep and difficult and Roxas had to admit that Darky wouldn't have seen anything like it before. Instead they gave her a very nice grey cob gelding to ride. He was very sure footed and stepped out easily as she took her place in the procession. Roxas blinked as she saw Xion was riding a chestnut mare rather than Hinterhoof.

"Something wrong with Hoof?" She asked. Xion shook her head.

"No, but her shoulder is bad and her legs aren't that great. She might go lame on a trail like that, she's done it before. Better to just leave her at home. I only trust her for town riding." Even in shape and conditioned, Hinterhoof just didn't have the conformation for much else.

"I'm surprised you haven't sold her." Roxas had learned more about Xion and knew she was very minor nobility. Her family was on the poorish side although she was paid a fairly good wage as Roxas bodyguard. Providing for her horse had to be eating up some of her income although the King's stables would handle most of it. Xion shook her head.

"If I did she'd be a steak and father gave her to me when I was just a girl. She's mine for life." Xion's tone turned a bit wry. "As nonsensical as that is." She knew there was very little sense in keeping a horse who was likely to go lame at any hard work, but it was still how she felt. Roxas nodded.

"I think it's kind of sweet." It was a bit touching, seeing Xion's sensitive side. Xion laughed.

"Sweet! Chaos, don't tell Seph he'll think I've gone soft in the head." Jenni rode up beside them on her own horse, a white stallion with very good bone but a regrettable swayback. Jenni herself was looking a bit better, more cheerful than she had been and dressed in her own riding chaps. They were embroidered with the crest of her house, which was a silhouette of a songbird in flight. "Hey Jenni! How's it going?"

"Not too bad." She said softly with a shy smile. "Father gave me some new bracelets, see?" She held out her wrist and the two girls exclaimed over the silver and amethyst bangles. "He usually doesn't do things like that." Jenni sounded a bit bewildered but pleased. Xion frowned faintly but didn't say what she was thinking… that Jenni's father and the King had probably made some final arrangements on her future as a second wife. Her father was an ass but Jenni probably didn't need to have it pointed out.

A few minutes later Axel joined them on his buckskin and they waited patiently for the procession to get underway. Riku's father, irritated beyond endurance and with a fine disregard for rank and common courtesy, got Kohla's court into gear with some very harsh words. Roxas giggled behind her hand and Axel didn't bother hiding his grin as things finally got started.

"He's an underhanded bastard but I love Seph sometimes." Axel confided in Roxas who smiled. Riku's father had silver hair just like his son, but where Riku wore his a little longer in defiance of the usual styles his father had it cropped very short. He pulled on his helmet as the procession began to move. "He sure doesn't take any shit." Technically, Seph and Riku were both far below Kohla in rank. Seph had climbed the ranks and been named a noble for achievement and gifted lands directly from the Skull Queen, which made him a middling rank noble. Kohla's house was far more ancient and powerful but Seph couldn't care less. And as the King's best general, he didn't have to care much about what the other houses thought. Axel caught Kohla's father giving Seph some dirty looks but he was sure nothing would come of it. Seph was a dangerous enemy to have and Kohla's father was fundamentally a coward.

The people on the streets waved and cheered at the wedding procession. Axel grinned and waved back as Roxas laughed and waved a bit herself. Soon enough they were out of town and following the road that ran parallel to the river, deep into the pine woods and up into the mountains.

The trail was just as bad as the stablehands had predicted and Roxas was glad she'd left Darky behind. The grey took his time but never had any problems and seemed to have incredibly endurance. A few of the prettier horses began to falter halfway through and they had to take a break to rest them. Kohla's palomino wasn't doing very well and Zexion even spent some healing magic to pep the mare up. Roxas privately thought the horse was having to deal with Kohla's sub-par riding as well as the trail conditions, but there was no way they were going to fix that.

"Something's wrong." Axel said in a low tone and Roxas glanced around. They were both mounted and waiting for Zexion to finish. "The horses…" Roxas hesitated then felt her grey twitch under her. Axel's buckskin whinnied and sidled, almost running into her grey before Axel controlled him. "They're afraid." Roxas glanced at Seph and Riku and saw that the General was reaching for his blade. She reached for hers –

And the water on the river seemed to explode. There were screams and Roxas joined them as her grey suddenly bolted. Axel's horse went with his close herd mate and Roxas felt a jolt and a line of fire on her back as something tried to yank her out of the saddle. But the saddle held and her new shirt gave way and there was a howl as whatever it was tried to find something closer. Roxas saw the trees flying by and tried to flatten herself to the horses' neck, just going wherever he was taking her. She was vaguely aware that Axel wasn't beside her anymore but there wasn't much she could do about it.

Axel, meanwhile, was in a similar situation as his horse bolted into the woods. But instead of following Roxas they ended up hitting a deep little stream that fed the main river. Axel swore and gripped the reins, trying to control his buckskin as the horse leapt into the water and sloshed further upstream. "What in HELL Bucky? What do you think you're doing?" The bolting had probably been for the best given how close one of the trolls had come to catching him, but what was his horse doing now. Bucky stood completely still and shivered. The water was ice cold and Axel suddenly had a bad feeling. "BUCKY!" He yanked at the reins then tried to draw his sword as hands abruptly yanked him from the saddle and under the water.

_A Nereid! _Axel struggled and tried to slash but in her own element, the water spirit was irresistible. She… or rather, he at the moment… yanked his sword out his hand before planting a firm kiss on his lips. Axel was startled into exhaling and water filled his lungs. Before he could panic he realized he was breathing. _Oh._ The appearance of the Nereid was changing, going from a crazed looking thing full of wild green hair to a slender, almost Roxas-like body with short, spiky green hair. The Nereid clearly wanted an intimate interlude and was going to keep him alive long enough to get it.

But that was still very bad. The water was freezing and Axel could feel himself shivering already. He wasn't going to survive down here very long and tried to summon his fire but found it snuffed out instantly by the icy water around him. The Nereid began stripping away his clothes and Axel struggled against it but found to his horror that he couldn't feel his hands very well anymore. Hands of ice touched him and Axel groaned, closing his eyes as the Nereid's enchantments slipped over him.

"Bucky?" Roxas' tired grey gelding was walking easily through the woods now but Roxas was completely lost. But then she heard a whinny. "Is that you?" She guided her horse towards the sound, trying to ignore the pain in her back. It was really starting to sting. She found the buckskin gelding eating grass by the edge of a deep stream but there was no sign of Axel. "Axel?" Then she blinked at Bucky and realized he was wet. He'd clearly gone into the stream but where was Axel? "….!" Roxas suddenly remembered Zexion saying that his scrying had told him to teach her to breathe water. Was Axel under the water? She hesitated then jumped off her horse before stripping down and unsheathing her sword. Sword in hand, she cast her spell and jumped into the water.

She didn't know what the creature was that was holding a naked Axel down was, but the way it was touching him enraged her. The way Axel's lips were going blue didn't look very good either. The Nereid was unaware of her until she was quite close and Axel looked up, green eyes widening as she sliced at the water elemental.

A normal sword would have done nothing but Roxas sword was far from normal. The enchanted blade sliced into the very essence of the Nereid and it screamed, a harsh grating sound that echoed unpleasantly through the water. It turned on her ferociously but Axel grabbed it by the leg, yanking back as Roxas stabbed again. The Nereid screamed again before vanishing and Roxas grabbed Axel, dragging him to the surface. Soon they were both on the banks of the river coughing out the water and learning to breathe air again.

"That… was horrible…" Axel wheezed and Roxas was about to say something pithy about his body enjoying it when she saw how blue and shivering he was. She quickly went and got her discarded shirt, ignoring the blood on it and wrapping it around him. Axel sniffed, coughing a bit more as she gave him a hug.

"Axel, I know that was a Nereid but what was the thing that attacked us on the trail?" She'd only gotten a very confused impression of lots of claws and teeth. Axel shivered and leaned against her as he answered.

"Trolls. More than one I think. They can… live under bridges and in hollows by the river. Probably a family and desperate for food." Trolls would rarely attack such a large group but if hunting had been poor and there were many young trolls, well. They might risk it. "Ah… my wedding clothes." Axel blinked as he remembered. He had one change of clothes with him, the suit he was planning to change into for the wedding. It wasn't ideal for riding but it beat trying to ride naked.

"Wait until you dry out a little." Roxas recommended as she squeezed a bit of water out of his hair. The sun was warm and there wasn't much breeze so now that he was out of the water, Axel was quickly recovering. Axel nodded and she smiled, tucking him against her as they both enjoyed the summer sun. "I hope everyone else is okay." Roxas shifted with a wince, feeling the cuts on her back stinging. They were very shallow but painful. Axel frowned.

"That many trolls… I don't know. Someone might have died. Do you know which way is back?" He was hopelessly turned around and unfortunately the sun didn't give any real clues. Roxas shook her head and winced again. "Wait, are you hurt?" Axel noticed her pain and sucked in a breath as he saw her back. "Damn!"

"It's nothing Axel, really." Roxas was sure she'd be fine but Axel laid his hands over the marks and she blinked as she felt an odd tingling. "Axel?"

"I'm not too good with healing magics but trolls can have poisoned claws." Axel muttered and Roxas bit her lip. That wouldn't be good at all. Axel finally shook his head. "That's all I can do. Let's get dressed."

"Right." Roxas started pulling on her clothing as Axel pulled his suit out of his saddlebags. It was dark brown and sewn with the crest of his family, much like her gown. They would be a matching set again. Roxas smiled at the thought and fed her horse a carrot piece before mounting. "Should we follow the stream?" It fed into the river and the road was right beside the river. Although if they picked the wrong way they could go quite far before they noticed. Axel hesitated and nodded.

"Let's go this way." Axel picked a direction at random and their horses carefully picked their way along. Axel had the feeling they were going the wrong way when they'd been riding a good fifteen minutes without seeing anything, but he was sure of it when they hit a much smaller path. "Damn." Axel surveyed it with a frown. It looked like a goat trail. Then he blinked as he heard a horse whinny. "Eh?" Was he wrong or had someone come to look for them? A small party came into view, picking their way up the goat trail and Axel blinked at the man in the lead. He was very tall but this man was taller, with short, spiky auburn hair and a bulky build. His horse looked like a draft cross, built to carry a lot of weight.

"Ho there!" The man pulled up his horse and looked them over with a frown. "Who are you?" Axel looked over their clothing and realized these men had to be foresters, likely adherents to some minor noble who had arrived for the wedding. The procession to the spring could only be so big so they'd clearly decided to go for a ride on their free time. But why?

"I'm Prince Axel and this is Princess Roxas. And you are?" There was a shocked pause before someone laughed.

"Ah, pull the other one it's got bells on it!" Roxas blinked uncomprehendingly and Axel frowned. She'd never heard that expression before. Axel knew it meant the man didn't believe them. But their leader shook his head.

"Use your eyes Matthias. He's telling the truth, although I don't know why the Prince would be this far from the road." He gave Axel a nod. "I'm Lexaeus. These bravos and cutthroats are Matthias, Regen, Vold and Zorr. We're in the train of Squire Lebrak." That was a very minor noble indeed, probably at the wedding only because his holdings were very close to the city. Axel nodded.

"Pleased to meet you. Why are you up here, if you don't mind me asking?" This was an odd direction to go for a pleasure ride. Lexaeus jerked a thumb at a loaded pack mule.

"We're going up to pan for gold and firestones at one of the streams." That made sense. Plenty of the little streams that fed into the Glacial River had gold and small gems in them. It was worth the effort if you had horses or donkeys available. Axel quickly came to a decision. Riding in the wilderness for two people was very hazardous thanks to the Glimmergaus and other magical beasts.

"Well, instead of that could you escort me to the spring? I'll see you're rewarded with a pound of gold each for your trouble." That was generous but a small price to pay for his and Roxas safety. There was a murmur of appreciation and Lexaeus grinned.

"I'd be a fool to say no. If you want to get to the spring more quickly, this track leads there. Or we could go back to the road." Axel considered a moment.

"Let's follow the track." They could wait for the rest of the party at the spring and Zexion would be scrying for them. With the spring as a reference he would surely find them. Lexaeus nodded and the party got into gear, horses moving carefully up the rugged trail. It was even worse than the main road and they had to take it slowly but it was much faster. Lexaeus frowned, though, as a mist started to rise.

"Glimmergaus." He muttered and the word quickly spread. "Everyone stay close." He controlled his horse firmly and Axel and Roxas concentrated on doing the same. "Keep moving." The Glimmergaus couldn't take a group this large but it could try to frighten one of the horses into bolting. The mist was so thick now that it was difficult to see but Axel lit a fire between his fingers, holding up his hand and trying to dispel it as much as he could.

"Regen! NO!" There was a whinny as a horse finally panicked. The other horses caught the fear and tried to bolt but everyone except the luckless Regen managed to control their mounts. Vold tried to go after him but Lexaeus voice was like the crack of a whip.

"Stay in place or the Glimmergaus will take you both!" The horses were all dancing and eyes were rolling as their riders tried to calm them. But the mist began to lighten as the Glimmergaus departed, satisfied. "Damn." Lexaeus took a deep breath and shook his head. "Keep going."

"But Regen?" Matthias said weakly and Lexaeus shook his head again.

"We can search for the body later. Let's get the Prince to safety first." Axel grimaced at that but nodded. The wilderness was active today and he didn't want to see what else it could throw at them. There were a few mutters but the group started moving again. Axel frowned as he saw Roxas wipe her face with one hand.

"Are you okay?" He asked her in a low tone and she looked up with a wan smile.

"Just hot." Axel frowned but didn't question it further. There wasn't anything he could do if she was getting sick. It took them almost an hour and Roxas was feeling very unwell when they reached the spring.

The waters of the spring bubbled with enchantment. The trees and flowers surrounding the mystical waters were huge and full of vibrant colors. Roxas could see blue energy misting over the spring and it felt both exhilarating and dangerous. She could tell just from a quick glance that the energy was natural and unrestrained. But she just felt so hot it was difficult to think.

"Roxas?" Axel slid off his horse and helped her down, biting his lip at the hot feeling of her skin. He quickly pushed up her shirt, ignoring her weak protest. "Damn!" The cuts on her back were puffy and oozing. They smelled funny as well, and it was much too early for an infection to have set in. It had to be poison. A shadow fell over him and Axel looked over his shoulder to see Lexaeus looming behind him.

"What happened to her?" Axel blinked as he realized he hadn't told them about the trolls. He quickly filled the man in on the details of what had happened to the wedding party. "Troll venom, that's bad." Lexaeus expression was very serious as he looked at Axel. "I'm sorry." Axel grit his teeth as he took the other mans meaning. He knew Lexaeus was right, that once the venom started affecting someone they were as good as dead. But he couldn't accept it.

"She is NOT going to die!" Axel glanced around desperately and his gaze fell on the water. "…." It was a desperate gamble but… Axel quickly stripped Roxas down, ignoring her feeble protests. "Cast water breathing on yourself." He waited until she managed to obey and prayed she had the spell right.

"You're going to dunk her? That's blasphemous!" One of the men said, appalled, and Axel shook his head. The spring was considered sacred so that was true… and dunking someone in the waters would either kill them horribly or grant healing. There was no other outcome.

"I don't care!" Axel took a deep breath and waded into the water, wincing at the way the magic nipped at his skin. Then he lowered Roxas into the frothing water. Magic seemed to explode and he had to close his eyes against the blue wave of power. Roxas spasmed in his arms and he held her grimly as she rode out the magical storm.

When it was over he quickly pulled her up into his arms and carried her back to shore. The men were all staring as she coughed, ridding herself of the enchanted waters. There was a sigh as they heard that.

"She's alive. A miracle." Axel grinned, looking down at Roxas' back. The wounds were gone without even a scar. "Errr…" Lexaeus hesitated then spoke carefully. "My Prince, I hate to mention this but I… thought she was a woman."

"Huh?" Axel blinked at the foresters who were all staring at his fiancée. Axel glanced down and blanched. "Damn!" The spring had gone above and beyond the call of duty, healing not only Roxas wounds but also her birth defects and the attempts made to correct them. Her… no, his penis was perfectly formed and terribly obvious. Axel put a hand over his eyes and decided there was no time to explain. "I'll give you each two pounds of gold if you don't mention this until after all the visiting nobles have gone home." He'd have to make an announcement then. The baths were public and while they could hide it for a while, with Xion acting as a scout and Roxas bathing at night, that couldn't last.

"Mention what?" Lexaeus said, completely deadpan as the other men laughed. Axel cuddled Roxas close, waiting for her to dry and keeping a lookout for the rest of the wedding party.

As soon as they arrived they would have the wedding. He wasn't going to let this stop them.


	8. Penis? Yes!

"Axel, I feel funny." Roxas murmured drowsily, blinking his big blue eyes. Axel kissed him soundly before helping him up.

"I know. Here, put on your gown." Roxas moved dreamily, pulling the gown over his head then pausing as something registered.

"Axel, I think…" Roxas felt himself and went deathly pale as he found something that he'd only seen on other people until this moment. "What?!?" He looked ready to freak out but Axel hugged him, holding his fiancée close. Roxas' heart was beating rapidly and it felt like he was trying to hyperventilate.

"Shh, calm down, it's okay." Axel said soothingly as Roxas looked up, panic on his face. "You were dying from the troll poison. I dunked you in the Spring of Dawning Magic and it healed your wounds but it also healed your… condition." Roxas looked almost ready to cry and Axel felt something inside him twist. "You do still want to marry me?" If Roxas wanted he could spurn the engagement now. This would be perfect grounds to end it and he could go home and be a Prince in Reyerton. Perhaps even King. But Roxas shook his head violently.

"Of course I want to marry you! But how can I…" Roxas' voice broke and he wished violently that this hadn't happened. He'd have given his right arm for it to have happened when he was a child, but why now? When he was finally happy living out his life as a woman? Axel smiled slowly and kissed Roxas on the forehead.

"I'll make an announcement when all these visitors are gone. It will be strange but I think people can accept it. And if they can't, too bad. I'm not the Skull Queen but I'm not my father either." Axel's green eyes flashed and Roxas blinked. "They'll treat you well or suffer." Axel was sure the castle wouldn't be a problem. The rest of the nobles might be but Ashara didn't stand on ceremony so even if the other nobles didn't want much to do with Roxas he would have plenty of friends. And the odds were they wouldn't want to be out of Royal favor so Axel didn't think that would happen. If anyone dared move openly against them Axel would handle it as viciously as necessary.

"Axel, you mean it?" Roxas sniffed and hugged him tightly. "I love you." He could imagine how much trouble this could be for Axel in the future. In Reyerton there would have been revolts if the King had dared do such a thing.

"I love you too." Axel whispered in his ear before gently kissing him. There was a small 'awww' sound behind them and they parted, blushing as they realized the foresters were watching them and grinning.

"That's resolved just in time." Lexaeus observed as he nodding down to their right. "Look." Axel turned and grinned. The wedding party was coming out of the trees although they looked much the worse for wear. Zexion was carrying a crystal ball and pointed towards them as soon as they came into view.

"Axel!" That was Riku and Axel waved as the whole group came up at a walk. They couldn't move any faster since they were carrying several stretchers and Axel was worried for a moment before he saw his father in the middle of the crowd. He had a bandaged arm but was otherwise fine. "We couldn't find you. What happened?" Plenty of people had been lost in the woods but only Axel and Roxas had proved impossible to find. Riku swung off his horse to give the redhead a tight hug. He'd been fearing the worst.

"Our horses bolted and a Nereid caught me. Then we got turned around and went the wrong way." Axel frowned as he noticed that Riku was looking drawn and Kitty was over by one of the stretchers. "Who's hurt?" Riku rubbed his face for a moment.

"My father." He admitted and Axel winced. Seph was very brave but he was over sixty. Riku had been born very late in his father's life. "The healers don't think he's going to make it."

"I'm sorry." Axel said softly. He hadn't cared much for Seph but he'd respected the older man. Riku smiled thinly.

"He always wanted to die in battle. And he might make it." Riku changed the subject, this one was just too painful. "Kohla's badly hurt by the healers are sure she'll make it." Axel grimaced and Riku shrugged. "She went after one of the baby trolls with a dagger." He'd been slightly impressed with her bravery. It was possibly her only redeeming trait. Her father hadn't even tried to fight. Riku went through the rest of the casualties but it was no one Axel really knew. Then his father rode up and swung down.

"Axel! Roxas!" He hugged them both and Axel smiled at the relief on the King's face. "Thank god you're alright. Zexion said you were but… who is this?" The King tilted his head at Lexaeus and the foresters.

"Lexaeus and his men. They're in the employ of Squire Lebrak and help me get here safely. One of them lost his life to the Glimmergaus." Axel said somberly and the King winced as the men saluted. "We owe them each two pounds of gold." King Cristopher blinked at that but nodded. "As well as… did Regen have any family?" Axel asked Lexaeus, who nodded.

"A wife and a little girl. Give the gold to me or to the Squire and we'll see they get it." Axel nodded somberly. They would certainly need it.

After that the wedding finally got into motion. Things were more than a little ragged as the priests pronounced the blessings and gave them a cup of sweet honey mead to share. Finally they kissed and Axel slid his arms around Roxas, making it a deep, passionate kiss. There were cheers from the audience and some rather ribald suggestions. Axel grinned as he pulled back and Roxas smiled happily.

"It's done." Riku and his father had signed the registry along with Roxas and himself. Now that they were officially married no one could dissolve it. Roxas was going to be his Queen and if people didn't like that, too bad. Roxas smiled and hugged him tightly.

"I love you." The party started going back down the trail right away. They were moving more slowly now due to the wounded but they still made much better time than they had going up. They reached the palace only an hour or so late which didn't bother the chefs at all. They had known the arrival time would be highly variable and only started cooking anything time sensitive when the whole party was settled in. It meant a slightly longer wait for the feast to start but it was worth it when the pages and servants brought out the appetizer of freshly cooked, spiced mushrooms.

The feast quickly developed a momentum of its own and Roxas and Axel both enjoyed it thoroughly. Axel grinned as he fed his 'bride' a fresh strawberry and he giggled, blue eyes shining as he nipped the berry out of the Prince's fingers. The dishes were all very small but almost endless and by the time the dessert came out everyone was quite full indeed. Roxas gasped, eyes going wide as a huge cake was wheeled into the room. It had its own special stand so it could just be pulled along, which was necessary since he doubted anyone could lift it. It was a perfect replica of the castle with the details picked out in icing and gilding. There was a cheer as everyone got a chance to look at the beautiful cake castle.

"I feel so bad cutting it up." Roxas was almost moved to tears by the display of skill. Then they turned the cake around and everyone laughed at the dragon head poking out of the back and blowing a bit of sugar fire. "Oh! It's perfect." The head chef was beaming at the reception the crowd was having at his artistry. Axel grinned and hugged Roxas a moment.

"It really is. But we do have to cut it." It would just go bad otherwise and what was the sense in that? After everyone had gotten a chance to properly admire it, Axel and Roxas carefully cut the cake together. It turned out the artistry wasn't just in the appearance… inside were three flavors of cake. Chocolate and raspberry, vanilla pistachio and banana. It was all rich and moist and when the fondant was removed, the icing left was delicious. Roxas slowly ate his piece, marveling at all of this. His wedding had started a disaster and ended a remarkable success. Well, mostly. Except for his new penis.

But Axel had plans for that. As soon as they were alone Axel pulled him close, exploring Roxas' new anatomy with fervor. Roxas yelped then laughed at his lovers obvious pleasure. Clothing went in various directions and Roxas smiled as he saw his frilly panties caught on a bedpost. Then Axel's lips and tongue took his mind off that completely. "Oh!" Roxas' hips bucked up as he gasped, eyes going wide at the wonderful feeling. It was very close to what he'd felt as a 'woman' and Roxas vaguely reflected that he probably hadn't had real female feelings at all. It had to be a bit different for them, didn't it? But Axel swallowed and he lost the train of thought, mind falling into the pleasure his mate was giving him. "Axel, oh, please." Roxas tugged on red hair gently, feeling that need already building inside him. But this time it was more complete, more right and he knew exactly what his body was doing. Axel slowly ran his fingers over Roxas' sack and the blonde arched with a mew of pleasure, barely managing to hold back his release. Then Axel swallowed again and he couldn't help it. Roxas released with a cry of pleasure and Axel swallowed his seed with the ease of long practice. Axel pulled away, wiping his lips and grinning.

"I never imagined I'd do that with my bride." Axel said teasingly as Roxas blushed. Axel gently stroked his thighs, smiling and Roxas shivered slightly at the feeling. Just looking at Axel was enough to make him react and it was very obvious now. Axel smiled at that and planted a kiss on Roxas' half-erect member before sliding up and reaching for the bottle of lube. He began opening up Roxas easily and he sighed, rocking his hips into Axel's hand. He was so used to this that it hardly hurt at all now, although it did sting a little when Axel entered. But that was soon overwhelmed by the wonderful feeling and Roxas kissed Axel passionately, nipping his neck with quick little love bites as the redhead made love to him. Axel moaned at the feeling and speeded his thrusts, kissing Roxas just as passionately. "I love you Roxas." He murmured into the blonde's hair, who moaned and arched in pleasure.

"I love you too. Ah! Axel!" Axel had slid a hand down between them and was stroking Roxas with every thrust. That made what had already been good even better and Roxas gasped, gripping Axel's shoulders tightly as he felt his release coming. "Axel! AH!" Roxas finally released, creamy fluid splattering them both. Axel followed a moment later with a loud cry and Roxas relaxed, nuzzling his throat for a moment. Then he looked at the redhead curiously as Axel chuckled.

"Just thinking that the servants will be telling everyone how good a time we're having about now." Axel explained and Roxas blinked, then laughed. It was especially funny because he was sure it was true. "They likely have bets going on how many times we'll do it."

"No! Really?" Roxas wasn't sure he believed that. Although… "I'll have to ask Xion tomorrow." If there was some kind of betting pool she would know. "And I'll have to tell her about my…" Roxas winced as he thought of that. He was fairly sure Xion wouldn't mind but he wouldn't know until he told her. Axel shook his head with a lazy smile.

"Don't worry about it, she'll be fine with it." He advised and Roxas nodded. "For now…" Roxas moaned as he felt a warm hand encircling his limp penis. Under Axel's touch he was quickly becoming hard again. "Let's give those servants a run for their money."

"Oh yes." Roxas could think of nothing better he'd rather do.

It was heaven being with Axel.

* * *

In the end, he and Axel managed to make love four times and slept very soundly that night. Xion even let them sleep in although she finally poked her head in around noon.

"Hey sleepy heads! Are you going to stay in bed all day?" Axel muttered something about les majesty and Xion tsk'd. "Oh hardly. Your father says get out of bed or he's sending Riku with a spear to poke you out."

"Alright, alright." Axel pulled himself up and Roxas yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Ah, Xion. We have something to show you." He looked at Roxas who swallowed heavily and twitched away the blanket. Xion just looked confused for a moment before registering the difference. Then her blue eyes went very wide.

"How'd you get one of THOSE?" She was flabbergasted. She'd been naked around Roxas dozens of times and KNEW she… he hadn't had a penis before. Axel lowered his voice. The servants might be listening.

"He was poisoned with troll venom so I dunked him in the spring to cure it. That cured the venom but also corrected a birth defect. Roxas should have been a boy, so…" Axel shrugged and Xion nodded slowly, still wide-eyed. Roxas had to speak up.

"Xion, you don't mind? I still want to be Axel's Queen." Xion considered it a moment then grinned.

"Roxas, I love you. You're the strangest person I ever met." Roxas squeaked in surprise as Xion ran over and hugged him, naked and on the bed. "I don't mind but Axel might get the nickname the Pervert." Axel shrugged.

"It beats the Boring." Xion laughed out loud at that. One of Axel's ancestors had been called that and he had been very unpopular. "Can you help us hide it until all the visitors are gone though? I don't want to announce it while they're here." He was sure there would be an outcry from ambitious nobles who wanted their own daughters as First Wife if he did. Not just Kohla's father either, and they would feed on each other. If they were all separated when the news got out it would be much harder for a protest to form.

"Sure thing. We can probably just bathe in the room." It would be harder but the short hair made bathing in a sink feasible. It would be strange but in less than a week all the nobles would be gone. The King wasn't obliged to support them at the castle forever.

It actually took a week and a half for everyone to be gone, but that was for very good reason. Kohla's wounds were mending well but Zexion and the physicians weren't willing to clear her for riding until then. They were the last ones to leave and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Kohla was a very bad patient and they were more than glad to see her go. That night, Axel made his announcement.

"I have something to tell you all." Axel gazed out over the inhabitants of the castle, hoping they took this well. Everyone looked curious and Roxas was very nervous. "When Roxas was born, she was actually a he." That caught everyone's attention and the few murmurs died down. "But he was so deformed that his people decided it was better for him to live as a girl. When the trolls attacked us, Roxas was poisoned and dying from their venom. To save his life, I dunked him in the Spring of Dawning Magic." There was a murmur from the audience. That act was definitely blasphemous to the sacred spring. "The Spring granted healing but it healed everything. My bride is now the man he should have been." There was a stunned silence and Axel continued. "I intend to keep him as my bride and First Wife. If any challenge me on this, I will follow the ways of my ancestors." That was the ancient formulae that meant he would accept no dissent. There was a pause as everyone assimilated it… then a ragged cheer began. Axel blinked then smiled. The castle all knew he preferred men to women and he and Roxas were both well liked, so perhaps it wasn't surprising. But the acceptance was still very welcome. "Thank you." Axel went to sit beside Roxas and the cheer became more uniform. Riku grinned and slapped him on the back as the King looked stunned.

"Uh, yes. Well. Let the supper begin." He said weakly and shot Axel a look that promised pain later. He was irritated that his son had said nothing to him about this. Axel ignored it and smiled as the meal began.

Everything was going just fine.

* * *

_Dear Sora,_

_I'm a married man! Yes, you read that right. I'm a MAN! I have a PENIS! It's kind of gross and floppy isn't it? But it feels so good when Axel touches it. That's worth anything._

_I can hear you now. "WHAT? HOW?" Well, I was dying from troll venom. Yes, they have trolls up here. So Axel dumped me in the magical spring to heal me and it worked, but it healed everything. It even got rid of my birth defect! I was horrified at first but people seem to be taking it well. Although apparently people have taken to calling Axel the Blasphemous. I'd be worried but Axel says it's a term of endearment. Actually I am worried but what can you do. At least it's not the Pervert. Although apparently that was taken by one of his ancestors. Who knew? I'm technically going to be Queen so I'm still wearing dresses and mostly pretending to be a girl, but that's okay. I like being a girl in Ashara._

_No, I'm not coming home to be Prince or King. I know you want me to Sora but I love Axel so much. He's everything to me. Is Mom's pregnancy coming along well? Maybe you can come to see me someday. That would be wonderful._

_Oh, Axel is going to be marrying Jenni in the winter. I don't really mind sharing him with her, she's very nice and actually seems happy that I'm a boy. I'm not sure why. I hope she doesn't have a crush on me or anything that might get a bit awkward. Oh well, I imagine I'll figure it out._

_So how is everything going in Reyerton? Gotten more rain? Tell me everything!_

_-Roxas_


	9. When Relatives Attack

_Roxas,_

_You're a man?!? You should come home! You could be King! I really don't want to be King, father keeps telling me I'm too nice for it. You'd be a lot better at it and you're the firstborn and I want you here… please come home Roxas. Please? Mom and dad want you to come back!_

_-Sora_

_Dear Sora,_

_I might technically be a man but I swore vows to Axel as his wife. I'm not going to break them. I'm sorry but I really love him and Xion and even Jenni too. I know it's hard but I hope you can understand._

_-Roxas_

* * *

Things went fairly well after Axel's announcement. The priests were thrown into a tizzy over it and were debating whether or not the marriage was valid so the King decided to make a blanket decree that such unions were sanctified. The multiple marriage custom came to their aide again, since concerned parents could always reassure themselves that there would still be grandchildren. That was very important in the North.

Many of the nobles reacted poorly to the news but were too cowed to try anything. Seph had recovered although only after a long stint of bedrest, and between him and Axel the nobles knew that any unrest would get short shrift. Kohla's reaction was the most interesting. She apparently had a screaming fight with her father when he refused to take action, cut off all her hair and joined the army. That got even more dramatic when her father tried to drag her back home but technically she was an adult and could do what she pleased.

It was midsummer when a reply arrived to Roxas letter but it wasn't at all what he expected.

"Roxas?" Axel was holding a message and looking a bit bemused. Roxas looked up from him reading curiously. "What exactly did you say in that letter to your brother?"

"Hm? Oh, well." Roxas flushed. "I was a bit happy so I told him all about having, um, male parts. Why, what did he say?" She assumed Axel had a letter from him and stood up to grab it. Axel laughed and let her have it. "…?" It was actually a report from the coast and Roxas paled as she read it. "He's HERE? Sora is HERE?" She was beyond astonished. How had he convinced the King and Queen to let him come all the way to Ashara? Axel grinned.

"Apparently! He just about gave the fleet at the harbor a heart attack. They thought we were being invaded." It was amusing since no shots had been fired but things could have gotten very un-amusing if someone had been trigger happy. "Tell him next time he might want to watch that. Visiting royals are supposed to send a note or something." Although Axel couldn't actually remember the last time they'd had a visit like this.

"I wonder if he's brought Kairi? But oh, what is he doing here?" Roxas pleased but also worried. Was Sora here to try to convince him to come home? Roxas loved his twin but he wasn't going to do that, period. Then Axel's arms were around him and he settled into the warmth gratefully.

"Don't worry, he can't make you leave." Axel murmured in his ear and Roxas smiled. Axel was right, Sora couldn't make him go. Although he was sure his brother would try. "He should be here by the end of the week." The rest of the week was a very anxious time for Roxas. Finally the delegation from the South arrived and Roxas winced at the size of it. Axel seemed a little put out. They were both standing on the wall and watching the delegation approach.

"They better be finding rooms in the town is all I have to say." He was not going to put up this many people at the castle with no real notice. If nothing else, it was expensive. Not to mention stressful on the staff.

"I'm sure they are." Roxas soothed him as a herald announced his brother to the gate guard. The guard looked to Axel who nodded and the door swung open in a slow, ponderous motion.

"Sora!" Roxas called to his brother, walking down the stairs quickly. Axel followed closely and Roxas smiled as he saw Kairi riding sidesaddle on a sweet little palfrey mare. Her hair was very long and done in a dozen braids and her gown was the normal Reyerton style. To Roxas it felt very odd to be seeing it again. The Asharan's didn't use side saddles at all and while they were politely not staring, Roxas was sure they were all quite agog at the strange way to ride a horse. Sora was much closer to what they were used to with his short hair and tabard in the family colors. He slid off his horse and grabbed Roxas for a hug, grinning.

"Roxas!" Roxas laughed as he hugged his brother back, marveling at how much Sora had grown in a short time. Was his brother trying to grow a mustache? Ugh.

"You might want to shave off that caterpillar Sora." Roxas said with a grin and laughed as his brother looked wounded. "But what are you doing here?" Axel offered Kairi a hand down and she accepted with a smile, sliding down off her horse.

"Mom and Dad sent me. They want you to come home Roxas." Sora said and glanced around. "Uh, is there someplace private for us to talk?" There was a very large audience here. Axel nodded.

"We can provide refreshments for your horses and men, Prince. But if you intend to stay for any length of time I'm afraid the castle isn't really prepared for this." Sora nodded absently as Kairi looked slightly troubled.

"We can find room in the town. I'm sure there's an inn we can rent or we can just set up camp outside of town." Axel frowned then shrugged. For a group this large camping would be almost perfectly safe. Only almost though. He wouldn't be surprised if a few night guards went missing if they did that. Axel escorted them to into the castle as the grooms and servants provided refreshments for the men and horses. A carafe of wine was quickly provided for the drawing room along with little cookies.

"Why are you here Sora?" Roxas asked impatiently as Kairi poured the wine. A servant would normally have done it but Xion was at the door, letting everyone know they didn't want to be disturbed. Sora looked down.

"Roxas, mom lost the baby." Roxas winced. Their mother had been pregnant a dozen times but was notorious for losing the children around the third or fourth month. No one had ever been able to quite figure out why. "Dad really wants you to come home. The priests say your cure is a miracle and you could be eligible for the throne now. Please Roxas?" Sora caught his hands and Roxas almost pulled away before he saw the pleading in his brother's eyes. But then he caught the stiff, frozen look on Axel's face and wished passionately that his new husband wasn't hearing this.

"Sora, no." Roxas said sharply as his brother looked crushed. But he knew he couldn't let Sora get to him. That was how Sora got his way and he just couldn't afford it. "I know this was an arranged marriage but I'm in love with Axel. I risked my life to save him and he risked everything to save me. I don't want to live my life with anyone else." The thought of being King of Reyerton was vaguely tempting, but Roxas only had to remember all his years as an outcaste to dismiss it. And leaving Axel just wasn't an option.

"But!" Sora protested then turned to Axel. "Your wife is a man! Surely you don't want that? It's perverse!" Axel looked very amused as Roxas wanted to smack Sora. Perverse?

"You clearly don't know much about me, Prince." Axel wasn't taking offense, Roxas saw with relief. But then he'd read up on Reyerton's customs. "I suppose your father didn't want to distress you with all the details. I know my father was honest with him. I'm really quite fond of the cock." Sora stared at him, eyes going very wide as Axel grinned. "You're nearly as cute as Roxas."

"Axel!" Roxas said, exasperated as Sora scooted back. "He's just teasing you. Although he's not kidding about the liking boys." Kairi was taking this all fairly well, Roxas noticed. But then her father was well known for taking a male lover after her mother died. It was a bit of a scandal but Kairi seemed quite fond of them both.

"What?!?" Sora's exclamation made Kairi wince. "You what? You're a – mrph!" Kairi had her hand firmly over his mouth and Roxas grinned. She was the more levelheaded of the two.

"Don't you dare say it or you'll be sleeping alone until our marriage." She said in a businesslike tone as Axel laughed.

"If he was about to say I'm a sodomite, that's not really an insult around here." He said and watched in amusement as Sora's eyes grew wider. The Prince really hadn't done his homework on Ashara or he'd have known about this. "I'm a catamite too, although Roxas hasn't topped me yet." Roxas gave him a reproving look and Axel shrugged. He knew he was phrasing things as crudely as possible but he wanted to make it clear that insults couldn't wound him. Besides, it was amusing.

"That's just wrong." Sora finally muttered as Kairi pulled her hand away. "Roxas, you're okay with this?"

"Sora, how could I not be okay with it?" Roxas said as gently as he could. It wasn't Sora's fault really. He was a typical boy in Reyerton and really much nicer than most. "I've been trained all my life to think of myself as a girl. I've always known my partners, if I had any, would be men. And I've always been attracted to men." Roxas wasn't sure if that was the social training or just the way he was, but whatever it was it was too imprinted to change. The thought of touching a woman just didn't interest him. "All this has changed is that the sex feels better since I don't have that pitiful excuse for a vagina." Sora blushed at the blunt words and Kairi winced. She knew about Roxas problems with that. "I appreciate that you came all this way to talk to me but I'm not going home. I like this place." Roxas looked up as he felt a warm arm around his shoulders and smiled into Axel's bright green eyes. The redhead kissed him on the cheek and Roxas cuddled up for a moment before looking at Sora again. "Besides, the priests would probably take one look at me and say I'm unnatural again." Roxas couldn't help the bitterness in his voice and he thought they really might. The Spring had healed him but hadn't changed the fact that he'd been without his male parts for the formative years of his life. Roxas didn't have to shave and his face still had a delicate beauty where Sora's was becoming more masculine. His voice was still an androgynous tone. Roxas wasn't sure if that would ever change but he doubted it. Puberty had taken an odd path for him.

"Maybe we should give Roxas some time to think about it Sora." Kairi interjected gently. "While we find a place to stay in the city or set up camp." She didn't think pressing Roxas quickly would get them the answer they wanted. She wasn't sure if that answer would ever be forthcoming, but not if they pushed the blonde into a corner. Sora sniffed and nodded.

"Okay." Sora climbed to his feet before scowling. "But I'm not leaving until you come home with me… brother!" Roxas stiffened then blinked as Sora hugged him tightly. "I love you." That made his heart melt a little and he hugged Sora back.

"I love you too." This was all seriously awkward… but how could he hate Sora when he was acting out of love?

The next week passed with some difficulty. Sora's escort couldn't find enough rooms at any of the inns to accommodate them so they had to set up an encampment outside the city. That led to all kinds of problems.

"We've lost six men so far! What kind of a kingdom is this?" Sora's complaint was loud and Axel looked annoyed. His father was letting him mostly handle this. Probably because the King was getting older and wanted Axel to really get experience with his duties.

"This is Ashara. Look, this just isn't Reyerton." Sora shot him a dirty look and Axel sighed. "I know, that's obvious. But I don't think you really understand. We have cheap magic for everyone but this is the downside. We have trolls, we have ogres, we have things that don't even have names because all anyone who sees them gets to say is AAAUGH! Followed by a lot of crunching." Sora blinked at that. "At least one of your men was taken by the Glimmergaus. You need to have larger groups for the sentries. Lone men are easy prey for the beasts. Or you could buy the lumber and set up some kind of wall. Most creatures won't go into buildings."

"We're not planning to stay here that long." Sora muttered, looking away and Axel could guess why. He didn't want to leave without Roxas but he was having no luck convincing his brother to go with him. "How big a group is needed for the sentries?" Axel thought about that a moment.

"At least three a group. Five would be better." Sora looked dismayed and Axel gentled his tone. "It's not that bad Prince. This isn't actually hostile territory so the only things they're guarding against are animals. No one is going to ambush you." While the thought was vaguely tempting, Sora wasn't on his favorite person list, it would still have been very unfair. Not to mention that Roxas would throw a fit and the King of Reyerton would probably declare war. Not the best idea.

"All right. Thank you." Sora sighed and then changed the subject. "Where is Roxas?" He'd come to the castle to meet his brother but couldn't find him and the servants weren't terribly helpful. Axel looked a touch surprised.

"I think he's gone with Xion, Jenni and Kairi to get some sea salt ice cream. I would have gone too but my duties didn't permit." That was largely Sora's fault, in fact, although Axel wasn't holding it against him. But he'd had to arrange for extra provisions to be brought to the city for them to keep the markets from inflating too much.

"Kairi? She didn't mention she was doing that." Sora sounded vexed and Axel had to smother a smile. He had a sneaking suspicion that Xion was already at work on Sora's fiancée. Kairi was a strong minded woman for a Reyerton girl and while he didn't think she'd be taking up swordplay, she might be planning to take home some Northern fashions and attitudes.

"Hmm. Yes. Well, I'm done my work. We can try to find them if you like." Axel was sure they'd finished with the ice cream some time ago and gone on to other things. "We'll just have to borrow the crystal ball. This way, Prince." As they walked up to the wizard's chambers Axel reflected ruefully on how well Roxas' soldiers were managing to fit in despite the losses to the wildlife. There had been a good half dozen bar fights, plenty of arrests for public drunkenness and at least one nasty incident over a whore. It was exactly like the times a good part of the army passed through and had to stay a few days. The merchants loved it and the city folk suffered it with pained patience. "Hmm. They've gone clothes shopping again." Axel grinned to himself as he watched Kairi trying on a lacy gown of burnt umber. Then he winced as she started taking off and quickly took the viewpoint out of the changing room. It took a bit of careful manipulation and he was sweating when he was finished but he finally had the name of the shop. "They're at Kailey's Fashion Emporium… what?" Sora was looking at him strangely.

"You're a wizard?" He'd expected Axel to find Zexion to search for him, not grab the ball himself. Axel grinned, wiping his forehead a moment as he released the spell.

"I don't need Zexion for simple scrying within the city. Which is good since I think he's off talking to Munstro." Axel wasn't about to interrupt a wizard and a dragon. He was brave but not stupid. "It's the water here, it's full of magic. Roxas is actually better at this than I am now although his gift would fade if he left the country." Gifts activated late in life would fade if the owner left. Children who drank the water would be gifted no matter where they went, although drinking it still made them stronger. Roxas looked startled at that.

"Is it all the water here? Or just this river?" He'd noticed the water tasted a bit odd, sort of… peppy. The soldiers liked it on the rare occasions they drank it. Mostly they drank the ale.

"It's all the water." Axel explained as he put away the globe. "But the river is strongest. That's why all of our peasants have some magic. Although that's also why there are trolls waiting to eat them in the woods." Sora winced at the reminder. "Let's go find them." They went back down to the courtyard and soon were mounted and heading over to the store. Sora was accompanied by two bodyguards while Axel had only one, a young man named Arlo. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the box but he suited Axel just fine.

The girls and (technically) boy were all still at the Emporium when they arrived. They tied up their horses by the second water trough, giving them enough rein to drink easily. Arlo's horse snapped at Hinterhoof but she quickly put him in his place.

"You think I should?" Axel smiled as he heard Kairi's voice. She sounded doubtful.

"Absolutely you should! It looks wonderful." Xion said cheerfully and Sora frowned as he rounded the corner.

"Kairi, what are you – eek!" Sora stopped dead and stared as Kairi blushed and put a hand over her heart. That wasn't the only thing she needed to hide though. The dress she was wearing was a very new style and Axel had only seen Kohla wear it… it required a lush bosom as well as very good legs. The gown was held in place with little cross ties, starting at her chest and making a path down to her hip, where it was slit to fully reveal her legs. It revealed a stretch of flesh along the way but still managed to preserve basic modesty. Well, by Ashara standards. By Reyerton ones it was a scandal in the making. Roxas seemed very amused and Sora made another eeping sound as he looked at his brother. Roxas was wearing something that better suited his boyish figure but it plunged very low in the back. "K-Kairi, you can't wear that in public!"

"I was going to wear it with you in the bedroom!" She blurted out, embarrassed, and Roxas laughed as Xion grinned. Jenni stepped out of the change room, looking at herself dubiously in the mirror and Axel though Sora might have a heart attack. Her gown was sheer with white and green edging and a fringe skirt. It was actually on the far end of Asharan fashion and Axel didn't think it was being very kind to her figure. Not many women had the looks to do it justice.

"No, this is bad." She said absently before heading back into the change room. Sora blinked rapidly and cleared his throat. Axel felt almost sorry for him although it was partly his own fault for not doing his research.

"Uh." Sora managed to find his train of thought, although it took some effort. "I was w-wondering if we could all go to the Bright Apple Inn?" That was a good place for a group like there's since it had a corral and stables for the horses. It also had very good food done in the Sloodi style, which was unusual in the city. Roxas beamed at that and even Axel had to smile.

"Certainly!" They girls all changed back into their riding outfits, although for Kairi that was the typical heavy skirts and ruffled blouse of a noblewoman. Xion, Roxas and Jenni all wore riding chaps and Kairi looked at them a touch wistfully as they started off to the restaurant. Roxas knew why. He'd ridden sidesaddle plenty of times in Reyerton and while it was very ladylike and the footrests provided some control, it wasn't nearly as much as proper riding. In some ways, no, most ways Roxas was very glad to be living in Ashara.

The meal went well and everyone had a fun time… but when they got back to the castle Sora had to start badgering him again.

"Roxas, please. Come back with me to Reyerton. This castle is so gloomy, there's no windows, no cherry trees and the whole place smells like rotten eggs! How can you be happy here? Please, come home!" Sora begged him shamelessly and Roxas had a momentary pang of homesickness. He did sometimes miss Reyerton. Especially the palace, the way the beautiful windows were open to the air even in the winter, the semi-tropical climate that made plants bloom even in winter, the nice fresh air…

And the people who cared for him not at all.

"Sora, no." Roxas caught Sora's hands in his and tried to gentle his tone. He wanted Sora to understand. "I love you, I love father and mother. But I don't love Reyerton. It's a beautiful place and I miss it but I don't miss how I was treated or the nobles of the court. You think everything would be better but it wouldn't. And I can't leave Axel. He and Xion and Jenni are my family now. You're welcome to visit me as often as you like, although I can't visit you, but I'm not going home with you. I just can't." Sora sniffed but for the first time Roxas got the feeling that he really believed his brother was serious.

"I'm sorry." He said in a small voice. "It's just… I l-love you so much. And you'd be a better King than me. Father always says I'm too gentle and you're not. You're wasted as a Queen." Roxas gave him an exasperated shove.

"Don't say that where Kairi can hear! She's going to be your Queen you know. And I'm not wasted as an Asharan Queen. Maybe I'll go to war with Axel just like the Skull Queen did." Sora blinked at that thought and Roxas had to laugh. "She was his grandma Sora! He knew her. Even if I were a woman I could carry a sword and use it here."

"Oh." Sora sighed and hugged his brother. "Well, we're going to stay another week. No reason to leave too soon. I love you Roxas." He wanted to make the most of the time he had with his brother.

It would be over far too soon.


	10. Fin

"Ohhhh! So cold." Roxas could see his breath puffing in the air. Axel laughed and Roxas smiled, looking up into his husband's face as a warm arm slid around him. Jenni laughed and cuddled up to Axel on the other side. He put his other arm around her as they watched the skating match. The Glacial River had frozen solid for the winter and had been turned into a vast playground.

"It's not that bad. It could be windy." Roxas made a face and Axel thought his Queen was more beautiful than ever, his cheeks rosy with the cold and his face framed by glorious fox fur. Jenni looked good too, happy and glowing with her first pregnancy.

It had been almost a half a year since Sora had left and things were going very well. He'd been married to Jenni in a quiet ceremony two months ago and to everyone's surprise, she'd conceived almost immediately. The King was beside himself with pleasure at the thought of a grandchild and Roxas was looking forward to it too. His great sadness at living as a woman had always been the fact that he couldn't have children. He loved them very much and helping to raise Jenni and Axel's babies would be almost as good as having children himself.

"I love you both." Roxas murmured softly and looked up into Axel's warm green eyes. The redhead smiled down at him and Jenni laughed.

"I love you both too." She said fondly, hugging Axel. She and Roxas had gradually become closer although it fortunately hadn't turned into anything beyond friends. Roxas wasn't attracted to women that way and if Jenni had gotten that fond of him, things could have gotten awkward.

"I love you both more." Axel said with a grin and Roxas playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Axel! It's not a competition – mrph!" Axel silenced Roxas with a kiss, warm and loving. Then he smiled and did the same to Jenni, who giggled in pleasure.

"If showing love were a competition, though, we'd be much better off wouldn't we?" Axel said and Roxas could only agree. The world would be a lovely place if everyone competed in showing love. "Want to try the skates again?" Roxas winced at that.

"Do I have to?" Skating was completely unknown in sunny Reyerton and his first attempt had not been a success. He'd ended up in a snowdrift. Axel shrugged then grinned.

"You don't HAVE to. But it would be fun. Jenni and I will help you." With one of them on either side they'd be able to keep Roxas up. Roxas sighed but nodded. Xion was skating freely across the ice. Although… Roxas paused as he was lacing up his skates on a bench beside the ice.

"Axel? Who is that Xion's skating with?" The huge man seemed very familiar to him. Axel glanced up and smiled.

"That's Lexaeus. Remember? The fellow who helped save us by the spring." Roxas' eyes widened. Now that Axel mentioned it he definitely remembered. How had he forgotten? But then, it had been a traumatic time. "They've been stepping out together on her nights off." That surprised Roxas even more. He knew Xion had found a new beau, but he hadn't known it was someone he'd met.

"Well, I hope they do well together." They were certainly a strange couple. Xion was tiny compared to the massive Lexaeus. But Roxas thought their personalities might complement each other. Axel stood, stamping his skates into place and Roxas hastily finished tying his.

It took a while for him to figure out the skates, but after a great deal of help Roxas managed to move freely. It was great fun although it quickly tired his ankles and they finally retired to a bench to have some hot cider.

"Oh look!" Jenni tugged on Axel's arm and he obediently looked. "They're making caramel lace! Can we get some?" Roxas looked over, curious and saw that boards were being put down and snow piled on top in an irregular mound. Then molten caramel was poured onto the snow and cooled into odd, lacy patterns. Children seemed to love it.

"Of course." Soon they all had a bit of the caramel lace and Roxas giggled as he sucked on his. It was a lot of fun, crunching up and sucking on the delicate lace. They watched another skating competition, this one a game involving sticks, nets and a puck. Roxas was very vague on the rules and it looked more than a little violent. Lexaeus was in it and proved to be a very good player indeed.

They finally went home and Roxas fell asleep beside Axel, utterly content. Jenni was tucked against his other side but Roxas didn't mind. The Royal bed was big enough for three and they were all too tired for anything but sleep. He and Jenni had learned how to share Axel's attentions, and sometimes they even slept with him together. Those were very good nights. It helped Axel too, since he wasn't as strongly attracted to women.

They were all awoken bright and early by a far too chipper Xion. She leapt onto the bed with a fine disregard for rank and propriety and grinned at them as Axel swore and Jenni made a small, sleepy protest. Roxas rubbed her eyes then blinked. Xion was wearing a good shirt but… only tiny, yellow underpants.

"Xion, have you lost your mind?" Axel asked and Xion grinned.

"Not at all." She said, disgustingly cheerful at the early hour. "I just had an idea and had to do it. Check it out!" She turned around and lowered her panties so they could see her bottom. All three of them stared, stunned by the sight of a bright yellow happy face tattoed onto Xion's rear.

"Xion… what IS that?" Roxas found his voice, bewildered. Xion pulled up her panties and turned around with a grin.

"It's a happy ending!" The servants outside were a bit confused by all the laughter from the Prince's bedchambers, but no one questioned it.

It was good to have the Royal Family so happy.

* * *

_Eventually, Jenni would give birth and to everyone's delight it would be to twins, a boy and a girl. Roxas doted on the children like they were his own. They would grow up to be beautiful and bright and capable heirs to the throne._

_Aarin was a thorn in their sides, raiding every spring and Ashara launched counterraids just as frequently. But then the King of Aarin, a canny and vicious old man died, leaving his Kingdom to his son. Fenric the Stupid quickly proved to be the most inept ruler Aarin had ever been saddled with. He spurned his engagement to a Sloodi princess he didn't care for, undoing all his father's careful diplomatic work. The Sloodi were mortally offended by the graceless refusal and made a surreptitious alliance with Ashara. The two pronged attack quickly brought the old, proud nation to its knees and Roxas got to ride to war beside Axel. They were both wounded in battle but survived. Kohla, astonishingly, proved to have a genius for war and led her battalion to victory again and again. Riku, too, proved his ability in combat and also his skills with diplomacy. With Aarin crushed, Axel and Cristopher split the country with Sloodi. The new Southern province was renamed Aarsha and while it would eventually become its own country, that wouldn't happen for many, many generations in the future._

_After the war was finished, Sloodi offered Axel a Princess to be his third wife and to solidify the treaties between them. Axel accepted and, ironically, the woman who should have married Fenric became his third wife. She was a tiny and beautifully dark woman with agile hands and a wicked sense of humor. She also tried to become Axel's favorite at first but met with a united opposition in Jenni and Roxas. It took a bit of time but they finally settled into a comfortable relationship and soon there was a third child to join the first two. In all, Axel would have five children by his two wives and the Royal family would not want for heirs for some time._

_At the age of sixty, King Cristopher stepped down and Axel was finally crowned king. He would reign until his untimely death at the age of fifty-two in a hunting accident. Roxas would follow him soon thereafter, unable to live without the love of his life. The children would miss them very much but the Kingdom would pass on into capable hands._

_And until my next story…_

_~FIN~_


End file.
